How Deep is the 2017 Draft Class? Part Two

Mike Valverde

Editor’s note: We’re already in full swing with our preparation for the 2017 NFL Draft at DLF, and alongside our weekly dynasty scouts conference reviews we’ve added a 2017 draft first look, rookie mock draft and a top 100. Here, Mike Valverde takes a different approach to further investigate the depth of the class in a two-part series.

Now that we have seen what the groups look like individually let’s take a look at how they stand as a collective. What I present is the fourth prong. Here is an early ADP look at where I believe players could be a trigger point. The list is malleable and can be formed however you want it to be. In other words, these players can be moved up or down to your preference.

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Round 1

  1. Leonard Fournette
  2. Dalvin Cook
  3. Mike Williams
  4. Christian McCaffrey
  5. Nick Chubb
  6. JuJu Smith-Schuster
  7. Courtland Sutton
  8. Deshaun Watson
  9. John Ross
  10. Corey Davis
  11. Wayne Gallman
  12. DeShone Kizer   

Just like last season, I see two quarterbacks going in the top-12. That’s how shallow it is this season. Last season, we had both Jared Goff and Carson Wentz go in the primary round. This year the results will be the same.

Round 2

  1. Royce Freeman
  2. O.J. Howard
  3. Jalen Hurd
  4. Samaje Perine
  5. Malachi Dupree
  6. Travin Dural
  7. Cooper Kupp
  8. D’Onta Foreman
  9. Isaiah Ford
  10. Bucky Hodges
  11. Evan Engram
  12. Donnel Pumphrey
  13. Alvin Kamara

Round 3

  1. Patrick Mahomes
  2. Darren Carrington II
  3. Ricky Seal-Jones
  4. Travis Rudolph
  5. Mitch Trubisky
  6. Sony Michel
  7. De’Veon Smith
  8. Kareem Hunt
  9. Shock Linwood
  10. Corey Clement
  11. Elijah Hood

Round 4

  1. James Conner
  2. Brad Kaaya
  3. Davis Webb
  4. Luke Falk
  5. Jake Butt
  6. Jordan Leggett
  7. Amara Darboh
  8. Jehu Chesson
  9. Zay Jones
  10. Jeremy McNichols
  11. Kalen Ballage
  12. Carlos Henderson

Below, I will be discussing those players that I think have tremendous potential who just did not make this list. The trick here is that I have faith that they will move up as the Senior Bowl, Combine and Pro Days take place. It will also include those who may have had trouble with the law such as Chad Kelly.

Quarterbacks

Chad Kelly, Senior – Ole Miss

Chad Kelly was heavily considered as a top option at quarterback until he tore his ACL. To make things worse, he won’t be able to run a full gamut of exercises at the NFL Combine. His interviews will be scrutinized heavily. Kelly completed 63 percent of his passes in 2016 for 2,758 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has a great arm, but it’s mixed in with horrible decisions on and off the field. On the list: Getting arrested for a bar fight that involved threatening a mass shooting, running onto the field at his brother’s high school game and trash-talking teammates on Twitter.

Mason Rudolph, Junior – Oklahoma State

Rudolph completed 64 percent of his passes on the season for 3,591 yards with 25 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has the arm strength to get the ball downfield. Rudolph also has a nice touch pass. He will locate his passes well, but needs to scan the field better and look off his primary receiver.

Running Backs

Nick Wilson, Junior – Arizona

Nick Wilson averages 5.8 yards per carry and has gained 320 yards with three touchdowns. He has only 55 carries this season, due to injury. He missed much of the season, as he had 41 of those carries in just two games. He has missed a total of 11 games and had six games with fewer than six carries.

Elijah McGuire, Senior – Louisiana-Lafayette

Elijah McGuire has averaged 5.2 yards per carry on the year for 672 yards with five touchdowns. He has 16 receptions for 107 yards and a score. McGuire is a multi-talented running back who can both run and catch. He has been doing consistently well since he was a sophomore who ran for 1,264 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also added 45 receptions and two touchdowns as well. The major drawbacks are that he is coming out of Louisiana-Lafayette, and is only 5-11 and 208 pounds.

Joe Williams, Senior – Utah

Joe Williams is an interesting story. He retired from football mid-season this year and decided that playing football wasn’t for him and returned a month later. After watching him the first two games of the season before retirement, you could tell his heart wasn’t there. 22 carries for 75-yards and no touchdowns. When Williams returned, he returned in full force. He finished the season with 1185 yards and nine touchdowns on 162 carries.

Wide Receivers

Artavis Scott, Junior – Clemson

Artavis Scott has been doing it all three seasons for Clemson. His freshman year, he caught 76 passes for 965 yards and eight touchdowns. As a sophomore, he increased those totals to 93 passes for 901 yards and six touchdowns. His numbers have nose-dived this season. Scott has 63 balls for 544 yards and five touchdowns. He is a smallish receiver that can be a slot receiver only, but he is an exciting player.

Gabe Marks, Senior – Washington State

Gabe Marks has flourished under Mike Leach and his spread offense. It also helps that he has Luke Falk as a quarterback. As a junior, he had 104 receptions for 1,192 yards with 15 touchdowns, and has contributed to the Washington State offense since his freshman year (40-560-2). He finished the 2016 regular season with 85 catches for 867 yards and 13 touchdowns. Marks is a smooth route runner, and has a flexible lower body and fluid hips along with very good hand-eye coordination. He doesn’t have track speed, but is fast enough not to be considered slow. He will struggle to get proper angles in blocks and uses his body to make the catch, but will secure the ball when taking the hit.

K.D. Cannon, Junior – Baylor

The quarterback situation at Baylor has killed his stock. The Bears are down to their fourth-string signal caller, and because of it, Cannon has only caught 68 receptions for 905 yards and ten touchdowns. He’s averaged 17.4 yards per catch over the past two seasons. The major concern is his off-season surgery he went through this season. Even though it appears it hasn’t had much effect, it always scares owners that it may flare up.

Concluding

It is going to be an exciting 2017 draft, and it will be interesting to see where these 56 players will end up going and how they will perform in the NFL Combine and other events. The above is my four prongs, and I would love to hear your approach. Which one is your stress test?

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mike valverde
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