The first round of the 2017 NFL draft began on Thursday night from Philadelphia. The names NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called early on are most likely ones you recognized from making big plays at the collegiate level. But let’s take a look at where these guys were before college, when they were just high school recruits.
Meet the 2017 NFL draft’s top 10 picks as high school recruits
The group includes some of the highest-touted former high school prospects and a mid-major two-star.
All ratings are via the 247Sports Composite.
No. 1 overall pick: Texas A&M five-star DE Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns: As the No. 1 prospect from both his state of Texas and his position group, Garrett committed to Texas A&M over basically everybody.
Butch Dill/Getty/Under Armour
SB Nation’s Bud Elliott recently rehashed what made Garrett so special as a recruit:
Garrett stood 6’4.5 and 240 pounds, yet he looked almost skinny, clearly having room to add a good 25-plus pounds to his frame. He was an excellent pass rusher with good speed off the edge. Right away this looked special, because most high school speed rushers are typically lighter. That Garrett could rush off the edge with burst, play the run with power, and had the room to continue to grow was an elite combination. And since he was not overaged like many prospects are (Garrett did not turn 18 until after Christmas of his senior season), it suggested he had good potential for future growth.
Garrett also seemed smart for a high schooler. I could hold a conversation with him, as opposed to an awkward interview. And he was coachable, the staff at the Under Armour All-America Game told me.
No. 2 pick: four-star North Carolina QB Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears: Ohio’s Trubisky was rated as the No. 6 overall dual-threat prospect. He early enrolled at UNC in 2013.
No. 3 pick: five-star Stanford DE Solomon Thomas, San Francisco 49ers: Thomas was rated the No. 3 prospect from the state of Texas in 2014. He committed to Stanford over Arkansas and UCLA, putting on nerd glasses to do so.
SB Nation recruiting analyst Wescott Eberts evaluated Thomas during the spring of his recruitment:
His greatest upside may be there if he can put on the weight because otherwise a defense might be best to employ him as a defensive end in a 3-4 to get the most from this skill set, requiring some tweaking of favored defensive fronts for many of the predominantly 4-3 defensive coordinators out there.
No. 4 pick: five-star LSU RB Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars: The New Orleans native was the No. 1 overall recruit from 2014 and committed to LSU over a reported 100-plus offers.
Scott Halleran/Getty, @_fournette
Last season, Elliott touched on what made Fournette so special.
The recruiting world knew about Fournette years before he signed. Watching him run, his style and balance reminded me of a bigger, faster Willis McGahee (before McGahee’s gruesome knee injury, of course). He was widely considered the best running back in a 2014 recruiting class that also featured Dalvin Cook, Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Joe Mixon, Royce Freeman, Elijah Hood, Christian McCaffrey, Samaje Perine, and more.
No. 5 pick: two-star Western Michigan WR Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans: From Wheaton, Ill., he committed to the Broncos in February 2013.
No. 6 pick: five-star LSU S Jamal Adams, New York Jets: He committed to LSU in a unique way: by using his adorable baby niece as a prop.
The Longhorns made the running for the Texas five-star in December during his recruiting process. LSU only entered the fray in December, as Texas and Florida were considered the main contenders. Eberts scouted him too:
Before the games start, he’s the taskmaster of the team, making sure that his teammates are focused and locked in on the task at hand. During games, he’s the vocal leader, calling out instructions and encouragement. In other words, he has the makeup of a player who will eventually become a team leader in college as well as a coach on the field.
At 6’0, Adams isn’t one of the most physically imposing safeties around, but he’s a hard hitter who notably has to reign himself in when he can’t tackle during the summer and has the feet and overall speed of a cornerback, so he’ll be a scheme-versatile prospect in college who can play virtually any position in the secondary.
No. 7 pick: four-star Clemson WR Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers: The nation’s No. 35 receiver in the 2014 class, he committed to Clemson over Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee.
No. 8 pick: four-star Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers: McCaffrey, from Littleton, Co. and the son of former NFL WR Ed McCaffrey enrolled at Stanford in February 2014. He was the No. 2 all-purpose back.
@run__cmc, Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
No. 9 pick: four-star Washington WR John Ross, Cincinnati Bengals: A native of Long Beach, Calif., Ross signed with the Huskies over 19 offers, including Miami, Michigan, Cal, UCLA, and USC. Ross was the No. 35 prospect from the state of California in his class.
No. 10 pick: three-star Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: He committed to Texas Tech over Texas A&M, West Virginia, Baylor, and Oklahoma State. Mahomes wasn’t offered by Texas, and we learned in January that former Longhorns head coach Mack Brown recruited Mahomes as a safety.
