Village Elliot's Post Combine Mock Draft 2017

Myles Garret destroyed the Combine and will be the Number One overall pick.  

    I was a doubter for a while, but now that Myles Garret has crushed the Combine, he is definitely the number one pick for the NFL draft.  I originally had Mitch Trubisky going first overall to the Browns, but after a so-so Sun Bowl performance, I decided he might not be a Hall of Famer after all, and downgraded him to second overall.  Besides the Browns do not really need a quarterback as much as they need to help an underperforming defense and terrible offensive line.  I think they are going to draft one or possibly two starting in Round 2, although they might be tempted to pull the trigger at #12 if Mahomes or Trubisky are still available.
      I think it is more likely that the Browns will draft one or even two prospects in Rounds 2 thru 4.  I think that the analytics guys will keep doing that until they are satisfied with the quarterback corps.  Even then, the goal is not to just have one quarterback, but have two or three, like the Patriots.  
      Deshaun Watson fell out of the first round after recording the slowest ball velocity of a major quarterback at 49 mph. I don't think his game is going to translate to the NFL as great as he has been for Clemson.  
     I was thinking of bumping Deshone Kizer all the way to the second round, but I figure his talent level is so high that someone will take a chance on him late in the first round, despite underperforming at Notre Dame. Houston would be a good fit, since that team loves to gobble up quarterbacks almost as much as the Browns.  My take is that in 2016 his receiving talent was not nearly as good as 2015, when the team sent three wideouts to the NFL.    So maybe we can forgive his relatively ordinary stats and focus on his exceptional throwing ability.  

    I bumped Jabrill Peppers  up and down.  For awhile,  I was afraid he was slower than advertised because Curtis Samuel looked faster when OSU played Michigan.  Well, Curtis Samuel is faster, but Peppers is still a 4.4 guy, which is excellent for a safety.  Plus he is an outstanding return guy.
     I had sent back Jamal Adams for running a 4.5, but on his Pro Day he ran a 4.3.    That's worth 10 spots at least, in my opinion.
    I moved Obi Melfonwu up over Jabrill Peppers because of a monstrous combine, and criticism of Peppers' coverage skills.  I still like Peppers because he had to play out of position in 2016 (linebacker) because his team needed him to, but normally he would have developed at strong stafety.  

   I like O J Howard even though the Browns don't really need a tight end.  But he is just too talented to pass up.  The Browns do need a right tackle to stabilize that Offensive Line.  If they decide to trade back they might land Ryan Ramczyk.  I think Trubisky and Mahomes will be gone early.  Mahomes looked every bit as good as Trubisky at the Combine.  

1	Browns	Myles Garrett	TAMU	DE
2	SF	Marshon Lattimore	Ohio State	CB
3	Chi	Jonathan Allen	Alabama	DE
4	Jacksonville	Mitchell Trubisky	UNC	QB
5	Titans	Jamal Adams	LUS	SSR
6	Jets	Pat Mahomes	Texas Tech	QB
7	Chargers	Mike Williams	Clemson	WR
8	Panthers	Cam Robinson	Alabama	T
9	Bengals	Derek Barnett	Tennessee	DE
10	Bills	Mallik Hooker	OSU	FS
11	Saints	Leonard Fournette	LSU	RB
12	Browns	OJ Howard	Alabama	TE
13	Cardinals	Corey Davis	Western Mich	WR
14	Eagles	Curtis Samuel	Ohio State	WR
15	Colts	Dalvin Cook	Florida State	RB
16	Ravens	Malik McDowell	Mich St	DE
17	Washington	Tim Williams	Alabama	LB
18	Titans	Ryan Ramczyk	Wisconsin	RT
19	Tampa	John Ross	Washington	WR
20	Broncos	Jarrad Davis	Florida	LB
21	Lions	Marlon Humphrey	Alabama	CB
22	Miami	Reuben Foster	Alabama	LB
23	Giants	Kevin King	Washington	cb
24	Raiders	Raekwon McMillan	OSU	LB
25	Texans	DeShone Kizer	ND	QB
26	GB	Obi Melfonwu	MUConn	S
27	Seahawks	Charles Harris	Missouri	DE
28	Atlanta	Takkarist McKinley	UCLA	OLB
29	Steelers	Caleb Brantley	Florida	DT
30	KC	Jabrill Peppers	Michigan	SS
31	Cowboys	Cordrea Tankersley	Clemson	CB
32	NE	Christian McCaffrey	Stanford	RB