Breaking down Todd McShay’s first 2017 Mock Draft

Todd McShay has released his first Mock Draft of the season, and there are some interesting picks across the board.

ESPN draft expert Todd McShay has released his first NFL Mock Draft of the season, which means it’s time to start pouring over it. This is only the first mock McShay has released, so it’s foolish to say it holds much staying power.

That’s not a knock on McShay, but he’ll bee the first to tell you that these early mock projections are usually way off. Once workouts and pro days are held, we’ll have a better idea of what the stock for this year’s prospects really is. That doesn’t mean we can’t overanalyze things in the meantime.

Here are a handful of McShay’s projections that stand out as interesting in a good way:

Jabrill Peppers, S/Michigan (Chicago Bears, 4th Overall)

The pick makes sense in that the Bears have no real options at quarterback here, and need to find a playmaker in the secondary. Peppers might end up being the best safety in the draft, so the Bears can do worse here.

Leonard Fournette, RB/LSU (Carolina Panthers, 7th Overall)

With Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin starting to take off on offense, there is a need to bolster the run game. Fournette is the best running back in college football and adding him to an offense in Carolina that is on the rise seems necessary.

Mike Williams, WR/Clemson (San Diego Chargers, 10th Overall)

Williams is probably the best wide receiver in this class, which is good news for the Chargers. They have Travis Benjamin and superstar Keenan Allen, which means adding Williams to this mix could give Philip Rivers once more legit chance at making a Super Bowl run.

Carl Lawson, OLB/Auburn (Houston Texans, 19th Overall)

The Houston Texans already have a great defense, even without J.J. Watt. Adding in Lawson to the linebacking corps will only continue to make this unit even better, which it needs to be with the way the offense has been playing.

Dalvin Cook, RB/Florida State (Green Bay Packers, 20th Overall)

This is an interesting one, but a pick that doesn’t make bad sense. Cook to either compliment or replace Eddie Lacey is a smart move, as it only makes the Packers offense that much more dynamic, especially with Ty Montgomery making his versatile presence known.

There were some surprising picks though. A handful of McShay’s initial picks are head scratchers, but again this is only the first of many mocks that will be released over the coming months.

Cam Robinson, OT/Alabama (Indianapolis Colts, 13th Overall)

It’s not that this is a bad pick, it’ll just never happen. Ryan Grigson is not going to take a guy that will make the Colts better, let alone one that will protect Andrew Luck. That being said, even if he takes Robinson, McShay has him going before Ryan Ramczyk, a tackle many see as being more talented.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR/USC (Washington Redskins, 22nd Overall)

The Redskins have an abundance of receiving options, having taken Josh Doctson last year and currently employing Jordan Reed, DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. But two of those three guys likely won’t be around much longer, which means adding  receiver is smart. The problem is Smith-Schuster might not be a first-round talent, and reaching for a receiver isn’t wise.

Christian McCaffrey, RB/Stanford (New England Patriots, 32nd Overall)

This is both a laughable pick and a perfect one.; it’s about as Belichick a pick as they come. McCaffrey’s versatile abilities ending up in New England could end up making the offense even better than it is, or making it continue without skipping a beat. It’s home run vanilla, which seems to be the specialty of Belichick.

You can read Todd McShay’s full first-round Mock Draft here.