Early Look at Underdogs in the 2017 NFL Draft

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know all about the New England Patriots and their astounding comeback to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. This means Tom Brady has now won more rings than any other quarterback in NFL history.

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY this means we also know the final pick order for the 2017 NFL Draft!

Now, obviously, no one can predict with 100% accuracy what will happen in the chaotic three day draft, especially when teams will trade around their picks during the course of the draft. Still, it might be fun to take an early look at how some experts are projecting our favorite underdogs to do.

First, here’s a mock from Bleacher Report and where they project our Underdogs:

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First round:

Pick 32, New England: Haason Reddick, LB, Temple

Second round:

Pick 36, Jacksonville: Forrest Lamp, G, WKU

Pick 52, Denver: Gerald Everett, TE, South Alabama

Pick 55, New York Giants: Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina

Pick 60, Dallas: Carlos Henderson, WR, Louisiana Tech

Third round:

Pick 78, Minnesota: Antonio Garcia, T, Troy

Pick 79, Indianapolis: Howard Wilson, CB, Houston

Pick 89, Houston: Dion Dawkins, G, Temple

Pick 100, Denver: Tyus Bowser, DE, Houston

Fourth round:

Pick 125, Detroit: Trey Hendrickson, DE, Florida Atlantic

Fifth round:

Pick 148, Chicago: Steven Taylor, LB, Houston

Pick 151, New York Jets: Trent Taylor, WR, Louisiana Tech

Pick 167, Miami: Larry Ogunjobi, DL, Charlotte

Pick 177, New England: Taywan Taylor, WR, WKU

Sixth round:

Pick 211, Washington: Nate Hairston, CB, Temple

Seventh round:

Pick 240, Washington: Jeremy Cutrer, CB, Middle Tennessee

Pick 242, Tampa Bay: Xavier Woods, S, Louisiana Tech

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If it plays out this way, the American will get nine players drafted (including two players from schools with their own SB Nation site that aren’t listed here, namely UConn and USF). Temple and Houston will each get three, with ECU’s Biletnikoff finalist Zay Jones going in the second round. Temple’s Haason Reddick would join WMU’s Corey Davis as the only G5 players to go in the first round.

C-USA will be right on the American’s tail, however, with eight players drafted. Louisiana Tech will lead the way with three, followed by WKU with two. Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, and Middle Tennessee each get one. The Sun Belt gets two drafted, both from Alabama schools with Troy and South Alabama each getting one.

Here’s a two-round mock draft from Sporting News.

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First round:

Pick 20, Denver: Forrest Lamp, G, WKU

Second round:

Pick 36, Jacksonville: Taywan Taylor, WR, WKU

Pick 40, Carolina: Antonio Garcia, T, Troy

Pick 42, Buffalo: Carlos Henderson, WR, Louisiana Tech

Pick 43, New Orleans: Tyus Bowser, DE, Houston

Pick 56, Oakland: Haason Reddick, LB, Temple

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Compared to the first mock, we see Forrest Lamp (WKU) and Haason Reddick (Temple) trade rounds. This one also has Taywan Taylor going much earlier than Bleacher Report did (second round instead of fifth). Carlos Henderson holds steady at second round.

Here’s one last mock. This one from Sports Illustrated gives the first three rounds.

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Second round:

Pick 44, Buffalo: Forrest Lamp, G, WKU

Pick 46, Minnesota: Antonio Garcia, T, Troy

Pick 48, Indianapolis: Haason Reddick, LB, Temple

Pick 59, Kansas City: Dion Dawkins, G, Temple

Pick 62, Pittsburgh: Tyus Bowser, LB, Houston

Third round:

Pick 74, Philadelphia: Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina

Pick 88, Oakland: Taywan Taylor, WR, WKU

SI was a little harder on the underdogs, with Corey Davis of WMU being the only G5 player taken in the first round. SI gives Temple and WKU a pair of picks each in the first three rounds, with Houston, Troy, and ECU getting one each.

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So there you have it. Forrest Lamp and Haason Reddick were both picked by one of the three to go first round, but all three had them going in the first two rounds. All three agree that Antonio Garcia and Tyus Bowser should be gone within the first three rounds (keep in mind the Sporting News draft didn’t include the third).

Taywan Taylor is the only other name to appear on all three drafts; he was put in the fifth round by Bleacher Report.

The 2017 NFL Draft begins on April 27. We’ll be highlighting the underdog prospects as that date approaches, so be on the lookout!