2017 NFL Mock Draft: Saints find Drew Brees replacement
By Erik Lambert
The regular season is at hand but that doesn’t mean teams aren’t looking ahead. What does the latest 2017 NFL mock draft have in store?
Few things are ever obvious in such far-reaching predictions. Unexpected changes always occur. It’s inevitable. That is why the teams and players involved here will likely be different a few months from now. Still that doesn’t mean it’s a useless effort. At the very least it offers a picture of the teams that are in line for the top picks at the present moment and the players who could be waiting for them provided they continue playing well.
Who kick-starts the action?
1. San Francisco 49ers
42. <p>Can anybody honestly claim that the San Francisco 49ers believe Blaine Gabbert is their long-term solution at the quarterback position? Though he played better last season than he ever did in Jacksonville, that isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement given how poor he was for the Jaguars. His numbers were average.</p> <p>As for Colin Kaepernick, it’s becoming apparent that his priorities have shifted. Football doesn’t seem to be his driving focus anymore, and that is absolutely the last kind of person the 49ers want under center.</p> <p>Odds are if they finished among the worst in the league as most predict, it would be a major upset if they don’t go for a quarterback in the first round. Chip Kelly never did that in Philadelphia and it may have cost him his job in the end.</p> <p>So this time they do the logical thing. Deshaun Watson will see people nitpick his game, but the fact is the Clemson product is the best quarterback in college football. He’s a pass-first player with great accuracy and poise who can run whenever he chooses to. Arm strength may be less than elite but there is enough to do the job. One can imagine all the things that Kelly offense could do with him at the helm.</p>. QB. Clemson. Deshaun Watson . 1. player
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