An Early Look at the 2016 NFL Draft

By Thomas Delatte on

The 2015 NFL season isn’t even halfway completed, and we are already talking about 2016. That is how it goes in the world of sports. The buildup and the hype lasts 12 months prior to each NFL season. 2016 is not any different. What better place to start than the draft?

The 2016 NFL Draft should be fun because, for the first time in many years, there is not a clear cut candidate for the top choice. There is a debate going on about whether or not an NFL team will risk it all on a guy that has not proven success in college but has all the tools to be great. Mr.Hackenberg, we are pointing at you! Regardless of whether or not an NFL team is willing to gamble on a Penn State quarterback or not is yet to be seen. The best QB to come out of Penn State was Kerry Collins so we are not too optimistic.

There are defensive players, running backs, and all kinds of positional players that are going to make an instant impact in 2016 but the question remains, who is the best overall? It is going to depend on who gets the top pick. No one can assume the best overall player will be going first overall if the need simply isn’t there. Will Tampa Bay really give up on Jameis Winston after one season if they get the top pick and then draft another QB? Probably not.

That brings us to our first decision, who will finish the 2015 NFL season with the worse overall record? After just a few weeks of action, it is starting to feel as if the Chicago Bears are going to make a push for that top spot. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, yes them again, could all be in trouble this season for different reasons but still in trouble nonetheless.

The best thing to keep in mind is that this is a prediction list of players being drafted solely based on team needs and where they might fall in the 2016 NFL draft. The overall rankings are a bit different. This is simply how we think it will go down if the teams all finish in the exact order we are projecting. (Yeah, that will never happen otherwise we would be doing something else for a living.)

32. Patriots – Whitehair, OG, Kansas State

31. Packers – Billings, DT, Baylor

30. Broncos – Jones, QB, Ohio State

29. Cardinals – Tuerk, C, USC

28. Falcons – Washington, DT, Ohio St

27. Bengals – Boyd, WR, Pittsburgh

26. Seahawks – Calhoun, DE, Michigan St

25. Panthers – Thomas, WR, Ohio State

24. Colts – Jack, OLB, UCLA

23. Cowboys – White, CB, LSU

22. Bills – Conklin, OT, Michigan State

21. Steelers – Oakman, DE, Baylor

20. Eagles – Alexander, OG, LSU

19. Jets – Decker, OT, Ohio State

18. Vikings – Cravens, OLB, USC

17. Chiefs – Ragland, LB, Alabama

16. Texans – Clark, DT, UCLA

15. Giants – Elliot, RB, Ohio State

14. Chargers – Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss

13. Rams – Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech

12. Titans – Robinson, DT, Alabama

11. Ravens – Floyd, OLB, Georgia

10. Dolphins – Smith, OLB, Notre Dame

9. Saints – Tunsil, OT, Ole Miss

8. Lions – Buckner, DE, Oregon

7. Redskins – Hargreaves III, CB, Florida

6. Raiders – Stanley, OT, Notre Dame

5. 49ers – Ramsey, CB, Florida State

4. Buccaneers – Nkemdiche, DT, Ole Miss

3. Jaguars – Bosa, DE, Ohio State

2. Browns – Cook, QB, Michigan State

1. Bears – Goff, QB, California

The Chicago Bears will end up near the top of the next draft and it is finally time for the fans and coaching staff to realize that no matter how much you hate Jay Cutler, the Bears are a terrible team without him. Even Matt Forte loses value without Jay Jay tossing him the rock. And do not even get us started on Martellus Bennett. He is a monster TE but only when Jay Cutler is behind the Center. Jared Goff could be the best replacement to the Cutsmanian Devil simply because Connor Cook would not make it in Chi-Town.

Isn’t that the reason why Jimmy Clausen struggled? Or is that simply because he was never that good of a QB to begin with?