2016 NFL Draft: Pros and Cons of Every Potential Top Overall Pick – Bleacher Report The Los Angeles Rams now own the first overall pick in the draft after trading with the Tennessee Titans, but don’t assume they’re the only team that could make the selection. In an already crazy draft cycle, the possibility of the Rams flipping with the Cleveland Browns or even involving themselves in a three-way trade that lands them the second overall pick is a definite possibility. Since 2007, when these 2016 draft prospects were still middle schoolers, the top two picks in the draft have been the same positions over and over—quarterbacks, offensive tackles, defensive linemen or linebackers. Assuming that this class doesn’t break a generational standard, five prospects are in the running to be the first overall pick. Is it a quarterback debate between North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz and California’s Jared Goff? Will positional players such as Mississippi’s Laremy Tunsil, Ohio State’s Joey Bosa or UCLA’s Myles Jack make the cut? We’ll break down the positives and negatives of each prospect. We’ll even throw a one-liner at the end of each evaluation that you can impress your friends with leading up to draft weekend on April 28. Pros If you’re looking for a quarterback who may develop into a prototypical passer, Carson Wentz is your guy. Against FCS opponents and FBS talent at the Senior Bowl, he had the best arm on the field. On paper, he’s a build-a-quarterback. At 6’5″ and 237 pounds, he has the frame you’d associate with holding up to hits. His 4.77-second 40-yard dash reflects on the field, as he may be the quarterback who most resembles a running back when tucking the ball since Jake Locker. He also won a national championship on a run-first team, which could be viewed as a positive for the Los Angeles Rams specifically, since Todd Gurley will line up behind Wentz, if he is indeed the first overall pick. If you’re talking about a guy who checks boxes, you have large, tall, mobile, winner and big arm crossed off. At the Senior Bowl, I saw Wentz lead the North squad both vocally and by example. For instance, he was the first man to hustle into the end zone when the team was told to head that direction. Cons While his frame is big, he was pulled down on a one-handed sack by pass-rusher Tyrone Holmes from Montana in the season-opener in 2015. On top of that, the “withstand injury” argument may be overstated, as Wentz missed half of the season due to a wrist issue. Large NFL quarterbacks such as Ben Roethlisberger also have a tendency to get hurt. There are times when Wentz stares down one target because he knows he’s going to be open. There were times when you saw him run four vert concepts, waiting for his outside receiver to turn back for a comeback, while he had a two-on-one matchup for a touchdown in the middle of the field. His feet and eyes need to quicken up, and he’s going to have to make the jump from the FCS to the NFL, not just the FBS to the NFL. One-liner: He’s a mobile Mike Glennon with 85 percent Cam Newton potential. Pros There were many times that Jared Goff was a one-man show at California. Tony Franklin’s spread system called for him to be willing to take a hit based on pre-snap alignment, as Goff knew he had to throw a pass off of play action with a man or two coming downhill. When you think of a throw-the-ball-all-over-the-field Air Raid offense, you think of reckless passes being scattershot in all corners of the gridiron. Goff wasn’t that type of a passer. He’s fairly risk-adverse, and even his disaster of a game against Utah wasn’t as bad as it looked on paper. He was a three-year starter for the Golden Bears, coming in during head coach Sonny Dykes’ first year, and they improved every season, struggling with a 1-11 year in 2013, improving to a 5-7 season in 2014 and finally finishing with a winning record of 8-5 in 2015. It was the first time that California had been in a bowl game since 2011, when Goff was a junior in high school, and the first time the program had won a bowl game since 2008, when he was in middle school. He improved every year while at California as well. He went from looking like a 160-pounder and dropping the ball everywhere against Oregon in his true freshman season to rebounding and looking like a legitimate prospect by his sophomore year. If you want a day-one starter and you’re scheming a West Coast type of system or one that demands quick-strike ability, he’s the top quarterback in the class. Cons How much better is he going to get? Goff has a functional arm but not a great one. He can be as efficient as he wants, but without developing more zip, which only Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers are examples of doing over the past decade, he’s maxed out around Matt Ryan‘s peak. Right now, he’s not too far away from Sam Bradford. His 9″ hands are worrisome. There are people who will bring up Michael Vick and Tony Romo as players who had similar issues coming out of college, but those two players are the exceptions to just about every rule. There will never be another Vick at the quarterback position, and Vick did have fumble problems, while Romo was an undrafted quarterback whose lasting memory in the NFL is presently his fumbling a point-after-touchdown attempt. Can he only play in dry weather? One-liner: He’s the guy you want in Year 1, but he might be the third passer in this class by Year 3. Pros Laremy Tunsil just might be the best offensive tackle prospect of the generation. His first two games in 2015 came against Carl Lawson of Auburn and Myles Garrett of Texas A&M, who well might start their NFL careers as top-10 picks. He completely shut them out, and by the time he finished his college career, he had only allowed three sacks in his last two years combined, per Pro Football Focus. Tunsil isn’t overly massive, but he checks all the boxes in terms of frame, and his ability to sink his hips is impressive for his size. Even when watching the combine positional drills, it’s obvious that Tunsil is the best athlete in the group. He’s a dancing bear. Cons Tunsil might not have the mean streak you want, but he’s functional as a lineman in every way. Every issue of his seems to stem off the football field. In Mississippi’s 2014 bowl game, he broke his leg. He’s seemingly recovered, as it didn’t affect his on-field play, but it’s something to keep in mind. He was arrested for punching his stepfather, but Tunsil and his mother pressed charges against his stepfather after the event. A source told ESPN.com’s Brett McMurphy that Tunsil only punched his stepfather after his stepfather pushed Tunsil’s mother. Tunsil also served an NCAA suspension for receiving “illegal” benefits. At the combine, it was revealed by his former teammate Robert Nkemdiche that Tunsil was at the hotel room when Nkemdiche, a potential first-round pick, fell out of a window. Tunsil and Nkemdiche are represented by the same agent. One-liner: He’s three years younger (21) than any left tackle in the NFL of his talent level. Pros Joey Bosa has been a known prospect in college football for three full years, which is impressive for a 20-year-old. As a true freshman, he was an impact player for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He’s a physical player, and with a 6’4″ frame, he can play anywhere between 260 pounds and 275 pounds. He has the size that you’d pin down as a 4-3 defensive end without thinking twice. His advanced technique and one-arm moves make for an easy transition to the NFL. He’s also a quality run defender, which means he can be one of the rare three-down rookie edge defenders. If you have a hole at defensive end and have little-to-no depth, he’s teed up to be a baseline starter early on. Cons While Bosa’s agility scores were solid, his 40-yard dash ranked in the 45th percentile for defensive ends, according to Mock Draftable. Of first-round prospects who ran the drill in 4.8 seconds or slower, only Tamba Hali has not “busted” since 2005. Bosa recorded a time of 4.86 seconds. He also doesn’t have quite the physicality that Hali does, who was also coached by Larry Johnson while in college. We have to contrast Bosa’s early career ability with his potential peak, even at his young age. He’s also a one-position player. In a multiple-position league, he can’t play 3-4 outside linebacker due to athleticism or kick inside to a 3-technique role, as a 269-pounder doesn’t seem ideal as an interior rusher. It worked against Big Ten guards, but NFL offensive linemen are the second-biggest jump in competition between the college and professional levels just behind quarterback. He’s a base end only. One-liner: His peak isn’t DeMarcus Ware, it’s Chandler Jones. Pros Myles Jack can do anything. Do you need a long-term middle linebacker? Jack is your guy. Do you need an outside linebacker-safety hybrid as a chess piece to combat spread offenses? Jack is your guy. He did everything from carry the ball to play safety to line up as an edge defender for UCLA. He’s a natural athlete who isn’t limited by any physical trait. It’s within reason to ask him to spell the running back, if the team needs it. Special teams may also be a place where he can thrive. Despite not performing at 100 percent, Jack still posted a 40-inch vertical at UCLA’s pro day. He can be a generational athlete when fully developed. Cons Jack’s knocks speak for themselves. He has a cartilage issue stemming from the September knee injury that ended his true junior season. According to Dane Brugler of CBS Sports, his medical recheck in Indianapolis didn’t clear him for all franchises, which may impact his draft stock. Cartilage injuries can be serious. Jack, a Seattle native, went to high school 10 miles away from Brandon Roy’s high school, the NBA player who went from being an All-Star in 2010 to retiring from the league in 2011 because of to the lack of cartilage in his knee. This was when Roy was in his mid 20s, and he played a non-contact sport. The fact that Jack moved all around the field means that he is underdeveloped in terms of positional instincts. He bounced around everywhere as an athlete, and he enters the NFL as the same type of player. He’s not the advanced linebacker that you’d assume a No. 1 pick could be. One-liner: Ray Lewis might be the Jerry Rice of linebackers, but Jack has the potential to be Randy Moss.
