| Round 1 |
| 1 |  | Houston | Jadeveon Clowney | DE | South Carolina |
| It seems very unlikely that Houston will take a quarterback with the first pick. That leaves Jadeveon Clowney or a package deal to trade down. Trading down could be a nice option, but grabbing an amazing pass rusher like Clowney is pretty nice too. |
| 2 |  | St. Louis (from WAS) | Khalil Mack | LB | Buffalo |
| Sammy Watkins and Greg Robinson are options here for St. Louis, but Khalil Mack makes the most sense. The Rams get to pick again at #13 overall and they can address their needs at wide receiver or on the offensive line at that point. |
| 3 |  | Jacksonville | Sammy Watkins | WR | Clemson |
| Assuming Jacksonville will play it smart and take a "second" tier quarterback in the second round, the Jaguars will end up with the leftover from St. Louis. Watkins is by far the best receiver in a very, very talented class of receivers. |
| 4 |  | Cleveland | Blake Bortles | QB | UCF |
| Cleveland could hope one of their quarterbacks falls to the second round, but that is a bit dangerous and the Browns have to do something to ignite their franchise. If that means getting butts in the seats, they will take Johnny Manziel. If it means winning games, they should take Blake Bortles. |
| 5 |  | Oakland | Greg Robinson | OT | Auburn |
| Oakland wants to win now and developing a young signal caller is not going to save any jobs…even with Johnny Football left on the board. Greg Robinson can help solidify a decent offensive line. However, the Raiders will probably hope to trade down. |
| 6 |  | Atlanta | Anthony Barr | LB | UCLA |
| The Falcons want pass rushers, but the price to move up for Jadeveon Clowney or Khalil Mack is probably going to be too much. Atlanta could get lucky if teams start jumping up to grab quarterbacks, letting Clowney and Mack fall a little bit. At the least they wouldn't have to move up as far to get their man. But if they remain here, Anthony Barr is the next best pass rusher on the board. |
| 7 |  | Tampa Bay | Johnny Manziel | QB | Texas A&M |
| Tampa Bay would be ecstatic if the draft plays out this way. Their decision will be between Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans and his quarterback, Johnny Manziel. Both are great options at this point in the draft. |
| 8 |  | Minnesota | Derek Carr | QB | Fresno State |
| Minnesota has been eyeing Blake Bortles, but he is long gone. If you are going to reach this early in the draft, it better be for a quarterback that fits your system. Derek Carr fits the system. The Vikings could slide down a few spots and hope Carr slides with them. |
| 9 |  | Buffalo | Mike Evans | WR | Texas A&M |
| Buffalo has options here. Mike Evans is a great bargain at the #9 spot and there have even been rumblings that the Bills want to trade up to grab the wideout. Offensive tackles Jake Matthews and Taylor Lewan are available as well and either would start right away. |
| 10 |  | Detroit | Jake Matthews | OT | Texas A&M |
| Sometimes you just have to throw needs out the window. The Lions have some potential in the secondary and will certainly add more youth to the defense later in this draft, but Jake Matthews is too much to pass up. |
| 11 |  | Tennessee | Darqueze Dennard | CB | Michigan State |
| The Titans are looking to boost their secondary and Darqueze Dennard would be a fine way to do just that. Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert is higher on some draft boards, so Tennessee could go either way if they end up targeting a corner. |
| 12 |  | NY Giants | Taylor Lewan | OT | Michigan |
| If either Taylor Lewan or Jake Matthews fall this far, or Greg Robinson for that matter, the Giants will be happy. Eli Manning needs to stay on his feet and the Giants need to establish a ground game. Lewan will not fix the offense, but he will help. |
| 13 | | St. Louis | Justin Gilbert | CB | Oklahoma State |
| At some point the Rams will add options in the secondary. At this point Justin Gilbert is one of the better players on the board too, so this pick makes perfect sense. |
| 14 |  | Chicago | Ha Ha Clinton-Dix | S | Alabama |
| The Bears need help all over the defensive side of the ball…which still sounds weird to say. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is the best safety in this draft and should immediately step into a starting role. |
| 15 |  | Pittsburgh | Louis Nix | DT | Notre Dame |
| Pitt should be looking to bolster their defense in the first round. A cornerback is an option, but the top two are already off the board. Louis Nix is a huge run stuffer and would work well in the Pitt rotation. |
| 16 |  | Dallas | Zack Martin | OT | Notre Dame |
| Dallas has needs on defense, but the offensive line could use a boost as well. Zack Martin may be a notch below Greg Robinson, Jake Matthews and Taylor Lewan, but he should be the fourth offensive tackle off of the board. |
| 17 |  | Baltimore | Odell Beckham | WR | LSU |
| Odell Beckham has been flying up draft boards, yet do not be surprised if he falls back down a little bit on draft day. That would be good news for a Ravens squad that desperately needs some youth at wide receiver. |
| 18 |  | NY Jets | Eric Ebron | TE | North Carolina |
| Eric Ebron has a lot of buzz right now, but he is still a tight end and will not likely be a top ten selection. The Jets are looking for a receiving target and Ebron is the best one on the board. |
| 19 |  | Miami | Cyrus Kouandjio | OT | Alabama |
| Miami will not be happy to see Zack Martin off the board. The Dolphins are desperate for line help and could move up to grab one of the better linemen in this class. Cyrus Kouandjio is a reach, yet he does have the tools to be a solid offensive lineman in the NFL. |
| 20 |  | Arizona | C.J. Mosley | LB | Alabama |
| Arizona could go quite a few different directions with their first round pick. In this case, they should go with the best player on the board and that is Alabama's C.J. Mosley. |
| 21 |  | Green Bay | Calvin Pryor | S | Louisville |
| Green Bay has some holes on defense and Calvin Pryor could fill one of the safety spots. The big hitter should be starting from day one. Northern Illinois' Jimmie Ward would be an option for the Packers at safety as well. |
| 22 |  | Philadelphia | Kony Ealy | DE | Missouri |
| The secondary is an option, as is wide receiver, but when it comes to value, Kony Ealy may be too tough to pass up. If Green Bay passes on Calvin Pryor, he would be the pick here. |
| 23 |  | Kansas City | Marqise Lee | WR | USC |
| It is no secret that Kansas City wants to trade down and boost the interior of their offensive line. But if they stay here, and don't want to reach for a guard, Marqise Lee is the best option. |
| 24 |  | Cincinnati | Bradley Roby | CB | Ohio State |
| Due to off the field concerns, Bradley Roby's stock is lower than it otherwise would be. That leaves Cincinnati with a top cornerback talent late in the first round. |
| 25 |  | San Diego | Jason Verrett | CB | TCU |
| Jason Verrett may not be on the same level as some of the top corners in this class, but he should not be too far behind them in the pecking order. He is a superb talent and has been well tested in the Big 12. |
| 26 | | Cleveland (from IND) | Brandin Cooks | WR | Oregon State |
| Brandin Cooks put up some crazy numbers at Oregon State. In Cleveland he can team up with new signal caller Blake Bortles and disappoint fantasy owners. |
| 27 |  | New Orleans | Ryan Shazier | LB | Ohio State |
| Inside linebacker will not be on the top of New Orleans' list of needs. It will not be too far down either though and Ryan Shazier is a great value this late in the first round. |
| 28 |  | Carolina | Kelvin Benjamin | WR | Florida State |
| There is certainly no lack of wide receivers in this class. The Panthers desperately need one and they can sit at #28 and still get a good pass catcher. Kelvin Benjamin is raw, but he is a beast and will immediately be a major redzone target. |
| 29 |  | New England | Ra'Shede Hageman | DE | Minnesota |
| Ra'Shede Hageman is one of the more intriguing players in this draft. The versatile defensive lineman can play inside for the Patriots and is a great fit in New England's scheme. He can get to the quarterback too. |
| 30 |  | San Francisco | Jordan Matthews | WR | Vanderbilt |
| It took a while, but San Francisco may have to reach for a wide receiver. Jordan Matthews would be the seventh taken in the first round, which has only happened once…in 2004. Cody Latimer or a cornerback would be the other options for the 49ers. |
| 31 |  | Denver | Dee Ford | DE | Auburn |
| With Ryan Shazier and C.J. Mosley off of the board, Denver may have to look at linebacker later. In the meantime, nabbing a pass rusher like Dee Ford will help the linebackers that they do have. |
| 32 |  | Seattle | Antonio Richardson | OT | Tennessee |
| Seattle's hole at right tackle could be filled by Antonio Richardson. The big 6-6 Tennessee product is not as versatile as some other options, but he is a quality talent and one of the best linemen left with the last pick in the first round. |
