I’m going to let you in on a little secret: if you’re an NFL enthusiast who’s tantalized by the question of who you’re favorite team might take in the 2017 NFL Draft, you should stop paying attention to Mock Drafts, and instead be paying attention to “Big Boards.”
If i’ve said it a thousand times, i’ll say it a thousand more: NFL Mock Drafts, especially at this point in the offseason, and almost entirely meaningless. If basically every single team in the NFL is far from certain as to what they’re going to do with their first round pick, how can we expect the so-called “experts,” media talking heads, beat reporters, or even bloggers (like myself) to have any idea what those teams might do? You have about the same odds as getting a pick right — or wrong — as you do with picking the lottery numbers on a given evening.
Instead of wildly speculating what a team is going to do eight weeks from now, especially when their team needs are likely to significantly change between now and then, “Big Boards” — a comparative ranking of every single draft-eligible prospect — gives us FAR more tangible to discuss. Simply put, it’s your stake in the ground, stating: “all things being equal, I think this prospect is better than this prospect.” You’re making determinations and arguments based off of YOUR own evaluations and projections, instead of someone else’s.
Once again: Big Boards are NOT the same as a mock draft. Yes, I do think the Cleveland Browns should — and will — take Myles Garrett. But, just because I have a player ranked #2 or #3 on the big board, it doesn’t mean that I think the San Francisco 49ers or Chicago Bears are going to draft those guys. As a reminder:
- Big Boards = My comparative rankings of the top prospects in the 2017 NFL Draft.
- Mock Drafts = Wild, baseless, sure-to-be-hilariously-wrong speculation about who each team will take in the NFL Draft.
With all that being said, here’s my first Big Board for the 2017 draft season…
Rank | Player | Position | School |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Myles Garrett | DE | Texas A&M |
2 | Jonathan Allen | DL | Alabama |
3 | Leonard Fournette | RB | LSU |
4 | Jamal Adams | Safety | LSU |
5 | Reuben Foster | LB | Alabama |
6 | Malik Hooker | Safety | Ohio State |
7 | Marshon Lattimore | CB | Ohio State |
8 | Mike Williams | WR | Clemson |
9 | Solomon Thomas | DE | Stanford |
10 | Dalvin Cook | RB | Florida State |
11 | Corey Davis | WR | Western Michigan |
12 | O.J. Howard | TE | Alabama |
13 | Taco Charlton | DE | Michigan |
14 | Sidney Jones | CB | Washington |
15 | David Njoku | TE | Miami |
16 | Jalen Tabor | CB | Florida |
17 | Derek Barnett | DE | Tennessee |
18 | Takkarist McKinley | DE | UCLA |
19 | Ryan Ramczyk | OT | Wisconsin |
20 | Malik McDowell | DL | Michigan State |
21 | Quincy Wilson | CB | Florida |
22 | Mitch Trubisky | QB | North Carolina |
23 | Christian McCaffrey | RB | Stanford |
24 | Deshaun Watson | QB | Clemson |
25 | DeShone Kizer | QB | Notre Dame |
26 | Cam Robinson | OT | Alabama |
27 | Jabrill Peppers | DB | Michigan |
28 | Marlon Humphrey | CB | Alabama |
29 | John Ross | WR | Washington |
30 | Tre'Davious White | CB | LSU |
31 | Jarrad Davis | LB | Florida |
32 | Caleb Brantley | DL | Florida |
33 | Charles Harris | DE | Missouri |
34 | Zach Cunningham | LB | Vanderbilt |
35 | Gareon Conley | CB | Ohio State |
36 | Desmond King | Safety | Iowa |
37 | Budda Baker | Safety | Washington |
38 | Joe Mixon | RB | Oklahoma |
39 | Alvin Kamara | RB | Tennessee |
40 | Garett Bolles | OT | Utah |
41 | Haason Reddick | LB | Temple |
42 | Tim Williams | OLB | Alabama |
43 | Forrest Lamp | OL | Western Kentucky |
44 | TJ Watt | OLB | Wisconsin |
45 | Cordrea Tankersley | CB | Clemson |
46 | Ryan Anderson | OLB | Alabama |
47 | Jourdan Lewis | CB | Michigan |
48 | Carl Lawson | DE | Auburn |
49 | Joe Mathis | DE | Washington |
50 | Justin Evans | Safety | Texas A&M |
51 | Marcus Williams | Safety | Utah |
52 | Adoree Jackson | CB | USC |
53 | Cooper Kupp | WR | Eastern Washington |
54 | DeMarcus Walker | DE | Florida State |
55 | Patrick Mahomes | QB | Texas Tech |
56 | Pat Elflien | OL | Ohio State |
57 | D'Onta Foreman | RB | Texas |
58 | Evan Engram | TE | Ole Miss |
59 | Obi Melifonwu | Safety | Connecticut |
60 | Curtis Samuel | RB | Ohio State |
61 | Dan Feeney | OL | Indiana |
62 | Montravius Adams | DL | Auburn |
63 | Dawaune Smoot | DE | Illinois |
64 | Marcus Maye | Safety | Florida |
65 | Raekwon McMillan | LB | Ohio State |
66 | Buckey Hodges | TE | Virginia Tech |
67 | Gerald Everett | TE | South Alabama |
68 | Eddie Jackson | Safety | Alabama |
69 | Chidobe Awuzie | CB | Colorado |
70 | Rasul Douglas | CB | West Virginia |
71 | Chris Wormley | DL | Michigan |
72 | Jordan Leggett | TE | Clemson |
73 | Carroll Phillips | DE | Illinois |
74 | Cameron Sutton | CB | Tennessee |
75 | Elijah Qualls | DL | Washington |
76 | Zay Jones | WR | East Carolina |
77 | Chad Hansen | WR | California |
78 | Carlos Henderson | WR | Louisiana Tech |
79 | Dede Westbrook | WR | Oklahoma |
80 | Tarell Basham | DE | Ohio |
81 | Antonio Garcia | OT | Troy |
82 | Roderick Johnson | OT | Florida State |
83 | Jaleel Johnson | DL | Iowa |
84 | Tanoh Kpassagnon | DE | Villanova |
85 | Jordan Willis | DE | Kansas State |
86 | Jake Butt | TE | Michigan |
87 | Brad Kaaya | QB | Miami |
88 | Anthony Walker Jr. | LB | Northwestern |
89 | Carlos Watkins | DL | Clemson |
90 | Ethan Pocic | OL | LSU |
91 | Isaiah Ford | WR | Virginia Tech |
92 | Wayne Gallman | RB | Clemson |
93 | Kevin King | CB | Washington |
94 | Malachi Dupre | WR | LSU |
95 | Taywan Taylor | WR | Western Kentucky |
96 | Fabian Moreau | CB | UCLA |
97 | Dalvin Tomlinson | DL | Alabama |
98 | Samaje Perine | RB | Oklahoma |
99 | Davis Webb | QB | California |
100 | Daeshon Hall | DE | Texas A&M |