First, I have removed two players completely off my top 50 board. Although the talent and film is sparkling for both Reuben Foster and Gareon Conley, you will not see them listed. Both would be top 10 on my board. Conley's circumstances are rare in being so close to the draft. It will be nearly impossible for teams to get all the information and make a judgment on his guilt or innocence. As for Foster, he simply doesn't get it. He has a 7-year child, but gets kicked out of the combine for yelling at a hospital employee (nobody else seemed to throw a tantrum at the hospital). has a diluted urine sample, is self-admittedly white-board challenged, and scored a low Wonderlic score. Middle linebackers are usually the team captain on defense. Not for me. I first moved him to OLB, then simply off it. Too many other good players to have than wasting energy on this guy who is clearly clueless.
A best board for me doesn't automatically mean the surefire on the clock draft choice. Teams sometimes avoid a duplicate pick at the same position, or have a slim enough difference in grade between players that sometimes one leapfrogs over the rest. Some positions are simply more valuable than others. My best board is simply a projection of who I see has the greatest likelihood of success in the NFL.
The top tier for me is from 1-6. I don't see any holes, or any question marks, in any of these top prospects. No deficiencies. Hooker and Davis are my best players who have a question mark attached (Can Hooker clean up his tackling and is he experienced enough; is Davis fully healed, and what would he post for a 40 time...we don't know). As chronicled many times before, my lower than expected score on Fournette is due to a couple issues: I don't believe he will be a three down back in the NFL and that cuts out a LOT of snaps; and that the huge gaping holes he saw at LSU are not going to exist in the NFL, and he is going to have to improve lateral cuts to be a top back.
I could spend a day on each prospect, but that would take us into June, and that is no good. I welcome all questions, differences of opinion and more. As always, the draft is for fun (we are not solving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis here) and witchcraft (nobody truly knows what they are doing, and those who think they do are fooling themselves). Strap on the seatbelts, and let's roll.
The numbers indicate the round graded (I have 20 players graded as first rounders) and positional ranking.
2017 NFL Draft Best Board
Pick Player School Position Grade Position Rank
1 Myles Garrett Texas A&M Edge 1 1
2 Solomon Thomas Stanford Edge 1 2
3 Forrest Lamp Western Kentucky G 1 1
4 Haason Reddick Temple ILB/OLB 1 1
5 Christian McCaffrey Stanford RB 1 1
6 Jamal Adams LSU SS 1 1
7 Malik Hooker Ohio State FS 1 1
8 Corey Davis Western Michigan WR 1 1
9 Marshon Lattimore Ohio State CB 1 1
10 Patrick Mahomes Texas Tech QB 1 1
11 Mitchell Trubisky North Carolina QB 1 2
12 Derek Barnett Tennessee Edge 1 3
13 OJ Howard Alabama TE 1 1
14 Zach Cunningham Vanderbilt ILB 1 2
15 Jonathan Allen Alabama DT 1 1
16 Mike Williams Clemson WR 1 2
17 Evan Engram Mississippi TE 1 2
18 TJ Watt Wisconsin Edge 1 4
19 Kevin King Washington CB 1 2
20 John Ross Washington WR 1 3
21 Zay Jones East Carolina WR 2 4
22 Cooper Kupp Eastern Washington WR 2 5
23 Blair Brown Ohio ILB 2 3
24 Tarell Basham Ohio Edge 2 5
25 Obi Melifonwu Connecticut SS 2 2
26 TreDavious White LSU CB 2 3
27 Jordan Willis Kansas St Edge 2 6
28 Ryan Ramczyk Wisconsin OT 2 1
29 Chidobe Awuzie Colorado CB 2 4
30 Ahkello Witherspoon Colorado CB 2 5
31 Marcus Maye Florida FS 2 2
32 Alvin Kamara Tennessee RB 2 2
33 Kareem Hunt Toledo RB 2 3
34 Leonard Fournette LSU RB 2 4
35 Cam Robinson Alabama G 2 2
36 Carl Lawson Auburn Edge 2 7
37 Sidney Jones Washington CB 2 6
38 Budda Baker Washington SS 2 3
39 Garrett Bolles Utah OT 2 2
40 Taylor Moton Western Michigan OT 2 3
41 Dion Dawkins Temple G 2 3
42 Malik McDowell Michigan St DT 2 2
43 Chris Wormley Michigan DT 2 3
44 Jarrad Davis Florida ILB 2 4
45 DeShaun Watson Clemson QB 2 3
46 Marcus Williams Utah FS 2 3
47 Takkarist McKinley UCLA Edge 2 8
48 Joe Mixon Oklahoma RB 2 5
49 Dalvin Tomlinson Alabama DT 2 4
50 Charles Harris Missouri Edge 2 9
[ Edited by MadDog49er on Apr 27, 2017 at 9:20 AM ]
