By Mike McCarthy
It is that weekend in April where all of the stars of college football hope to hear their name called in this year’s NFL Draft. The NFL Draft is our favorite weekend of the year because it determines the way that your favorite NFL team will fair in the future. If you over overvalue a player and reach for him and they’re a bust, then you are booed out of town. If you steal a player or see something in a player, say like Tom Brady (round 6, pick 199) that no one else saw and get the greatest quarterback of all time, you are praised for life.
Let’s be honest, not many players are like Tom Brady where you draft them in the sixth round and they lead you to seven Super Bowls, winning five of them, and his career is still not over. There are so many story lines in this year’s draft and it all starts with Cleveland, just like every year. The Cleveland Browns have been the laughing stock of the NFL for a lot of years and have failed at drafting and developing quarterbacks that they draft in the first round (Brandon Weeden, Brady Quinn, Johnny Manziel). These three were all drafted at number 22 in the first round and are all out of the NFL already. Would they have fared better on other teams? Only time would’ve told, but unfortunately it just work out for them.
The Browns are going into this year’s NFL Draft with a plethora of picks, including the #1 and #12 picks in the first round. The consensus #1 player in this year’s draft is Myles Garrett, Defensive End out of Texas A&M. This is a player that if you pass up, you will regret and it hasn’t been like that in over six years. The Browns are looking at a very untested quarterback out of UNC, Mitch Trubisky. He has only thirteen collegiate starts under his belt and to go against the NFL’s elite defenses like Baltimore and Pittsburgh twice a year as a first year QB will be difficult. The learning curve for Trubisky will be big and if he goes to Cleveland, unfortunately he will be thrown into the mix quickly unless the Browns really believe Brock Osweiler can hold the reins for a while.
There is so much going on in this year’s draft and we can’t wit to see where all of the top names land and who will be the NFL’s next group of stars.
*Terrill’s picks were made before the diluted drug tests of Peppers and Foster came to knowledge and before the allegations against Gareon Conley.*
| 2017 NFL Mock Draft | Mike’s Picks | Terrill’s Picks |
| 1. Cleveland Browns | Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M | Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M |
| 2. San Francisco 49ers | Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford | Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina |
| 3. Chicago Bears | Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State | Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State |
| 4. Jacksonville Jaguars | Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama | Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State |
| 5. Tennessee Titans | OJ Howard, TE, Alabama | Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford |
| 6. New York Jets | Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU | Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU |
| 7. Los Angeles Chargers | Jamal Adams, S, LSU | Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State |
| 8. Carolina Panthers | Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford | Christian McCaffrey, RB, Standord |
| 9. Cincinatti Bengals | Mike Williams, WR, Clemson | Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama |
| 10. Buffalo Bills | Mitch Trubisky, QB, UNC | OJ Howard, TE, Alabama |
| 11. New Orleans Saints | Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State | Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee |
| 12. Cleveland Browns | Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech | Mike Williams, WR, Clemson |
| 13. Arizona Cardinals | Corey Davis, WR, W. Michigan | Dashaun Watson, QB, Clemson |
| 14. Philadelphia Eagles | Dalvin Cook, RB, FSU | John Ross, WR, Washington |
| 15. Indianapolis Colts | Haasan Reddick, LB, Temple | Dion Dawkins, G, Temple |
| 16. Baltimore Ravens | Forrest Lamp, G, Ball State | Kevin King, CB, Washington |
| 17. Washington Redskins | Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State | Haason Reddick, LB, Temple |
| 18. Tennessee Titans | Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama | Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan |
| 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | John Ross, WR, Washington | Dalvin Cook, RB, FSU |
| 20. Denver Broncos | Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin | Reyan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin |
| 21. Detroit Lions | Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama | Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama |
| 22. Miami Dolphins | Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida | Forrest Lamp, OL, Western Kentucky |
| 23. New York Giants | Charles Harris, DE, Missouri | David Njoku, TE, Miami |
| 24. Oakland Raiders | Tre’Davious White, CB, LSU | Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan |
| 25. Houston Texans | Dashaun Watson, QB, Clemson | Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech |
| 26. Seattle Seahawks | Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama | Cam Robinson, OL, Alabaman |
| 27. Kansas City Chiefs | Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt | Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida |
| 28. Dallas Cowboys | Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee | Tre’Davious White, CB, LSU |
| 29. Green Bay Packers | Takkarist McKinley, LB, UCLA | TJ Watt, LB, Wisconsin |
| 30. Pittsburgh Steelers | Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan | Josh Jones, S, NC State |
| 31. Atlanta Falcons | Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan | Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State |
| 32. New Orleans Saints | Adoree` Jackson, CB, USC | Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida |
Jared Zero