A day after last year’s NFL draft concluded, Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett was anointed the top player for 2017. Despite playing through a junior season of injuries and uneven play against top competition, Garrett remains the top prospect in the 2017 NFL draft.
The 100 best players in the 2017 NFL draft
Myles Garrett tops a deep big board of players.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
After Garrett, the top of the draft big board is heavy on defense. Alabama’s Jonathan Allen has been knocked by some because of the diagnosis of arthritic shoulders, but on the field he’s a dominating player.
Two Ohio State defensive backs — safety Malik Hooker and cornerback Marshon Lattimore — had exceptional seasons for the Buckeyes. Despite limited experience they both project as star coverage players in the NFL. Just ahead of both of them is LSU safety Jamal Adams, a good all-around safety who shouldn’t wait long to hear his name called on draft night.
The top offensive player, for me, in this year’s draft is Florida State running back Dalvin Cook. Like Allen, if you consider his on-field performance it’s hard not to be enamored by his play. He’s like a better version of Devonta Freeman with his ability to run around defenders and catch passes. Directly behind Cook is LSU running back Leonard Fournette. The two may have entirely different styles and strengths, but they grade out closely.
Then there are the quarterbacks.
Deshaun Watson of Clemson comes out on top for the position, but rates as the 14th overall prospect in the draft. Directly behind him is Mitchell Trubisky of North Carolina at 15th overall. Expect both to be picked higher than where they’re slotted. Watson would be rated higher if he had a somewhat stronger arm and didn’t throw so many interceptions. Trubisky would be rated higher if he had more than one year of starting experience.
Those two make up the top tier of quarterbacks in the draft. The next one consists of DeShone Kizer of Notre Dame and Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech. They’re also similarly rated with Kizer coming in at No. 33 and Mahomes at No. 36. To a large degree, the rating on both is mostly a projection.
That’s the same for Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers, one of the draft’s more polarizing prospects. After playing all over the field at Michigan, it can be hard to rate Peppers but I have him at No. 16 overall.
No position in the top 100 is featured more than cornerback, where there are 17 ranked. However, Lattimore is the only one in the top 20. What this class lacks in top end cornerback talent it more than makes up for in depth. Ten of the top 64 are cornerbacks, and expect that many to go in the first two rounds of the draft.
If there’s clearly a position that’s down this year, it’s offensive tackle. The top player at the position is Ryan Ramczyk of Wisconsin, but he rates as just the 18th-best player overall.
The draft class as a whole, however, is a good one because of its depth. For me, the first 16 players ranked are the top tier. After that, the talent is interchangeable. Smart teams should be able to find good starters into the third day of the draft this year.
With all of that said, here are the 100 best players in the 2017 NFL draft.
1. Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2. Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama
3. Jamal Adams, S, LSU
4. Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
5. Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
6. Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
7. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
8. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
9. Reuben Foster, MLB, Alabama
10. Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
11. Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
12. O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
13. Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
14. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
15. Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
16. Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan
17. Takkarist McKinley, OLB, UCLA
18. Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin
19. Haason Reddick, LB, Temple
20. John Ross, WR, Washington
21. Forrest Lamp, OT/OG, Western Kentucky
22. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
23. Malik McDowell, DL, Michigan State
24. Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
25. Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
26. Tim Williams, OLB, Alabama
27. Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
28. Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State
29. David Njoku, TE, Miami
30. Tre’Davious White, CB, LSU
31. Charles Harris, DE/OLB, Missouri
32. Garrett Bolles, OT, Utah
33. DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
34. Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
35. Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut
36. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech
37. Carl Lawson, DE, Auburn
38. Budda Baker, S, Washington
39. Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
40. Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
41. Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee
42. T.J. Watt, LB, Wisconsin
43. Dan Feeney, G, Indiana
44. Evan Engram, TE, Mississippi
45. Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida
46. Chris Wormley, DT, Michigan
47. Derek Rivers, DE/OLB, Youngstown State
48. Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
49. Josh Jones, S, North Carolina State
50. Curtis Samuel, RB/WR, Ohio State
51. Adoree’ Jackson, CB, Southern California
52. Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado
53. Ryan Anderson, LB, Alabama
54. Fabian Moreau, CB, UCLA
55. Raekwon McMillan, MLB, Ohio State
56. Caleb Brantley, DL, Florida
57. Kevin King, CB, Washington
58. Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State
59. Marcus Williams, S, Utah
60. Zay Jones, WR, East Carlina
61. Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma
62. Desmond King, CB, Iowa
63. Pat Elflein, G/C, Ohio State
64. Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo
65. Dion Dawkins, OT/G, Temple
66. Tarell Basham, DE, Ohio
67. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Southern California
68. Antonio Garcia, OT, Troy
69. Cooper Kupp, WR, Eastern Washington
70. Montravius Adams, DT, Auburn
71. Adam Shaheen, TE, Ashland
72. Tyus Bowser, LB, Houston
73. Taylor Moton, OT, Western Michigan
74. Chad Hansen, WR, California
75. Carlos Watkins, DT, Clemson
76. Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson
77. Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, Alabama
78. ArDarius Stewart, WR, Alabama
79. Jourdan Lewis, CB, Michigan
80. Dorian Johnson, G, Pittsburgh
81. Dawuane Smoot, DE, Illinois
82. Bucky Hodges, TE, Virginia Tech
83. Larry Ogunjobi, DT, Charlotte
84. Davis Webb, QB, California
85. Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma
86. DeMarcus Walker, DE, Florida State
87. Roderick Johnson, OT, Florida State
88. Eddie Vanderdoes, DT, UCLA
89. Adam Bisnowaty, OT, Pittsburgh
90. Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE, Villanova
91. Rasul Douglas, CB, West Virginia
92. Ejuan Price, DE, Pittsburgh
93. Jordan Leggett, TE, Clemson
94. Corn Elder, CB, Miami
95. Gerald Everett, TE, South Alabama
96. Ethan Pocic, C, LSU
97. Cameron Sutton, CB, Tennessee
98. D’Onta Foreman, RB, Texas
99. Jaleel Johnson, DT, Iowa
100. Dede Westbrook, WR, Oklahoma
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