Ten Thoughts on 2017 NFL Draft

Ten thoughts on the 2017 NFL Draft

1. Myles Garrett is easily the best player in this draft and should be taken first overall without any question. There is an argument for a number of guys as the second best overall player, but Garrett is the best by a very long way.
2. This is the deepest secondary draft that I’ve ever seen. There will be excellent top tier corners and safeties taken in the third round and beyond that come out of this class. I could see 25 starters at those positions or more. It’s borderline ridiculous.
3. The running back and tight end class are also very good. There will be a number of really good starters, pro-bowl players, and potentially even some Hall of Famers that come out of those two positions.
4. Offensive line in this class is weak. There are a few players who are solid but unspectacular and all of them have some weaknesses in their game. The three top tackles all have some issues and while the interior of the line is better than the outside guys it’s not a good class.
5. I think that no quarterback should be taken in this class in the top 20 picks but you could make a case for any of the top 5 qb’s after that point. I like Nate Peterman better than Davis Webb and I know I’m in a huge minority here but I don’t think Peterman is even far behind the other top 4 and a case could be made to take him first of the quarterbacks. Again in the minority but Peterman absolutely should not make it out of the first two rounds of this draft.
6. It’s an extremely deep draft, the deepest one that I’ve ever scouted. There is an entire extra round worth of players, it’s like having a draft with an additional round in between rounds 2 and 3. If you can trade back and add additional picks in this year’s class you should look to do it at almost every turn.
7. It’s not a great draft at the top other than Garrett, while there are a lot of good pieces up there, teams like San Francisco and Chicago are going to do everything they can to move back.
8. Five overrated guys: CB Chidobe Awuzie, DE Taco Charlton, CB Kevin KIng, DE Charles Harris, OLB T.J. Watt.   Awuzie and King didn’t make my top 90 and everyone is saying they likely won’t escape the first round. They are good solid players but first round picks should be studs and I don’t see it in either player. Harris and Charlton have some skills but they are second round guys, and I’ve almost seen zero mocks where they both aren’t taken in round one. Watt is a nice starter but he’s not a double digit sack or 100 tackle per year guy, should be round 2 but 9/11 mocks I’ve seen have him going in round one. These aren’t bad players, but they are going to be picked much higher than they should.
9. Seven underrated guys: QB Nathan Peterman, RB Marlon Mack, DT Jaleel Johnson, WR Ryan Switzer, CB Howard Wilson, TE Evan Engram, CB Fabian Moreau
10. I’d use a third round draft pick on CB Sydney Jones (who was my number one corner before his injury) TE Jake Butt (who was my number 3 tight end and had a first round grade before his injury) and would not use a pick on Joe Mixon. Mixon would have been a top 10 player on my board, and that’s electric, but this is an extremely deep running back draft and he’s not worth that high of a risk.