2017 NFL Mock Draft: First-Round Projections after Week 12
By Tyler Brooke
The college football regular season is coming to an end, and we’re getting a better idea of what the first round of the 2017 NFL draft could look like.
As we near conference championship games in college football, NFL draft scouts are getting a much better idea of what to expect from the 2017 draft class. After Week 12, there are a number of players who continue to stand out as potential first-round picks.
Of course, players will rise and fall throughout the postseason and offseason workouts, but if the NFL draft took place today, here’s what the first round would look like.
Note: The draft order is based off of Super Bowl odds courtesy of ESPN as of November 15th.
53. . DL. Alabama. Jonathan Allen. 1. player
As always, the Cleveland Browns are going to be tempted to draft a quarterback in the first round. However, this year’s quarterback class isn’t great, and there definitely isn’t any prospect at the position worthy of being selected No. 1 overall.
Instead, the Browns can consider adding a key piece to their defense. They could go after the talented edge rusher out of Texas A&M, but Alabama’s Jonathan Allen continues to stand out as the most dominant prospect in college football.
Allen has quickly drawn comparisons to the likes of Gerald McCoy, Ndamukong Suh and even J.J. Watt with his stellar play for the Crimson Tide. As crazy as it sounds, Allen might be able to live up to those comparisons because of his incredible physical and mental tools.
At 6’3” and 294 pounds, Allen uses his size and strength to drive blockers back while using his violent hands to rip and disengage to make plays in the backfield. With Allen, Carl Nassib and Danny Shelton on the defensive line, the Browns would have a great group in the trenches to start building around.