Andre Simone’s 2016 NFL Draft Big Board

After my top ten rankings at every position here’s my Big Board, where I’ll rank the top players in the draft regardless of position.

First things first – This isn’t a mock draft (that’s coming soon) these are my rankings. More specifically, I’m ranking players based on how good they’ll be three to five years from now not where they’ll be taken in the draft. Secondly, this Big Board is set up to be in tiers, now this is important: this is why you hear John Elway saying after the Bradley Roby pick that he was the only first-rounder left on their board. This is how most teams rank players (or at least in some variation of this) and hopefully is a useful tool while watching the Draft this weekend (draft coverage begins Thursday evening and will continue on Friday and Saturday.)

So let’s begin!

Elite Prospects (Top five in most any Draft, Franchise Cornerstone)

This group is obviously very thin which occurs every year (my only Elite players in last years draft were Leonard Williams and Marcus Mariota) unless the draft class is truly special. I have co-number-ones here with Ramsey having the slightest edge. He’s the cleanest prospect (meaning with the least amount of on and off-field issues) while also having the highest potential. Bosa has dominated the highest levels of college football and should be a stud end for a long time. Tunsil, Jack, and Elliott all had a real shot to make it in here but Tunsil and Jack have enough injury issues to keep them out and Elliott has positional value pulling him down.

1a. Jalen Ramsey, CB/S, Florida State

1b. Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State

Top Ten (Potential future Pro Bowlers top five players at their positions)

We’ve already touched on why the top three aren’t in the higher tier but rather down here. Goff would probably be down in the next tier, but gets pushed up by positional value. The Cal quarterback has tantalizing skills and footwork, but what separates him is the best arm talent of the entire quarterback group.

3. Myles Jack, LB, UCLA

4. Laremy Tunsil, LT, Ole Miss.

5. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State

6. Jared Goff, QB, Cal

First-Rounders (High-level starters)

This group is a bit thin and could be thinner if not for the small-school studs who get pushed up due to their elite potential, though they might require a bit more time to develop. Lee is going to have detractors, but he’s an elite athlete and playmaker, in addition to having a complete skill set that fits perfectly in today’s NFL, he’s a third-down ace. Then starts the defensive line group that is the strength of this draft, and already features six players in the top 15. Conklin and Stanley project as high-level offensive line starters a commodity that’s becoming harder and harder to find in the league. Alexander is the one true shut down corner, in this group, he’s long-armed and is still very young. As mentioned the small-school players are pushed up by their high-end potential though they might not be immediate starters like some of the prospects in this tier. Wentz has just about all the tools you need to be a great signal caller (though few elite traits), add that to the positional value and he gets a first round grade. Hargrave has even higher upside then Wentz and is an interior penetrator, one of the most sought after skills in the league today. Jackson might not be perfect for every coverage, but has the ideal skills for a modern day press-corner and possess high-end upside.

7. Darron Lee, OLB, Ohio State

8. Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson

9. A’Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama

10. Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville

11. DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon

12. Ronnie Stanley, LT, Notre Dame

13. Jack Conklin, OL, Michigan State

14. Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson

15. Javon Hargrave, DT, South Carolina State

16. Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State

17. William Jackson III, CB, Houston

Late First-Round – Early Second-Round talent (Projected starters)

Here’s where things get interesting. Not everyone has this tier on their Boards, but I like to have a group that’s on that first-round bubble. Most of these guys would be in the next tier up if not for one lingering question mark either on or off the field. That’s definitely the case for Nkemdiche, who might be two or three tiers higher if not for the some off-field concerns. The situation for Doctson and Treadwell is different, both are great players but lack the speed element to be considered legitimate potential N.1 targets in the NFL. Jones had a little off-field trouble and is raw, but the talent, if developed, is elite. Coleman and Billings are raw and a bit one dimensional now but again could strive if put in the right situations. Reed and Ragland are two-down studs and have few real issues, in a league that values third-down contributors above-all, their skills get devalued. Hargreaves is lower for me than most, he allows too many big plays to warrant being considered a shutdown corner in the NFL, but can be a good N.2 corner or a high-level slot.

18. Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Ole Miss.*

19. Josh Doctson, WR, TCU

20. Laquan Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss.

21. Chris Jones, DT, Mississippi State*

22. Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor

23. Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor

24. Jarran Reed, DT, Alabama

25. Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama

26. Vernon Hargreaves III, CB, Florida

Second-Rounders (immediate contributors and should be starters within first two seasons)

This is the strength of the class as there’s lot’s of quality depth and you can still find valuable future starters or high-upside developmental prospects with first-round talent. As happens in every draft teams will get enamored by a few prospects in this tier and reach on one in fear that they won’t be around later. The top three prospects in this tier have the potential to be ranked significantly higher, and all play premium positions. A lack of consistency and polish keeps all down here instead, whoever picks Lynch, Spriggs or Floyd will have to balance the risk with the potential reward.

That’s a big theme for this group, potential that is, as it is a theme throughout all of this. This group has a variety of players with high-end upside who just haven’t shown it on a regular basis to be ranked higher, mixed in with players who have the consistency and are solid/safe picks but lack that elite upside or top level positional value (potential value isn’t necessarily determined just by a position a player plays but by the specific skill-set the prospect has). None the less there’s lots of talent all of which should quickly find regular roles and be developed into starters.

27. Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis

28. Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana

29. Leonard Floyd, OLB, Georgia

30. Su’a Cravens, OLB/S, Southern California

31. Cody Whitehair, OT/G, Kansas State

32. Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama

33. Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky*

34. Karl Joseph, SS, West Virginia

35. Kamalei Correa, EDGE, Boise State

36. Jonathan Bullard, DE, Florida

37. Ryan Kelly, OC, Alabama

38. Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State

39. Taylor Decker, OT, Ohio State

40. Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State

41. Kevin Dodd, DE, Clemson

42. Kyler Fackrell, OLB, Utah State

43. Maliek Collins, DT, Nebraska

44. Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech

45. Kenny Clark, NT, UCLA

46. Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame*

47. Joshua Garnett, OG, Stanford

48. Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State

49. Shilique Calhoun, DE/OLB, Michigan State

50. Deion Jones, OLB, Louisiana State

51. Vonn Bell, FS, Ohio State

52. Sterling Shepard, WR, Oklahoma

53. Adolphus Washington, DT, Ohio State*

54. Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame

55. Willie Henry, DT, Michigan

56. Sean Davis, CB/S, Maryland

57. Rashard Higgins, WR, Colorado State

58. Darian Thompson, S, Boise State

59. Keanu Neal, SS, Florida

60. Tyler Boyd, WR, Pittsburgh

Third-Round talents (Should be starters within first three seasons)

The final tier we’ll be covering in this edition and another deep group and area of strength. First off, I never understand why analysts do a numeric big board, what’s the point of doing a top 100 if you have 111 graded as third-round picks or higher? so even though the numbering of it all might seem random that’s the logic behind it.

This group isn’t perfect, it’s made up of solid players without truly devastating upside, one-trick ponies, and really raw boom or bust types. Regardless all have the ability to be starters in spite of their deficiencies in the right situation.

Of the position groups most featured in these top six tiers, the clear leader is the interior defensive line with 18 players in my top 100. The edge rushers are just slightly behind with 16 in the top six tiers. The receiver group is also well represented, despite not having any players with a first-round grade, there are 14 receivers in the top 111. The corner group also has 14 players on the Board, matching up perfectly with its offensive counterparts. The defensive backfield is full of depth as there are also 12 safeties on the list.The offensive line is also well represented, eleven tackles in this top 111 and 17 total offensive linemen. The outside linebacker group has 11 players here but three of those are doubling up at the edge rusher spot as well. These are the strongest positions in a draft that has good depth and lots of potential starters though it might be lacking a deep pool of legitimate first-round talents.

61. Jeremy Cash, S, Duke

62. Jalen Mills, S/CB, Louisiana State

63. Ronald Blair, DE, Appalachian State

64. Austin Johnson, DT, Penn State

65. CJ Prosise, RB, Notre Dame

66. Hassan Ridgeway, DT, Texas

67. Bronson Kaufusi, DE, Brigham Young

68. Le’Raven Clark, OT, Texas Tech

69. Aaron Burbridge, WR, Michigan State

70. Jacoby Brissett, QB, NC State

71. Braxton Miller, WR, Ohio State

72. Alex Lewis, OT, Nebraska*

73. Leonte Carroo, WR, Rutgers

74. Artie Burns, CB, Miami

75. Sheldon Day, 5-Tech, Notre Dame

76. Joshua Perry, OLB, Ohio State

77. KeiVarae Russell, CB, Notre Dame

78. Jatavis Brown, WLB, Akron

79. Aziz Shittu, DE/DT, Stanford

80. Vernon Adams Jr., QB, Oregon

81. Germain Ifedi, OT, Texas A&M

82. Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech

83. Keyarris Garrett, WR, Tulsa

84. Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas

85. Devontae Booker, RB, Utah

86. Connor Cook, QB, Michigan Sate

87. Max Tuerk, OC/OL, Southern California

88. Joe Dahl, OG, Washington State

89. Christian Westerman, OG, Arizona State

90. Paul Perkins, RB, UCLA

91. Charles Tapper, DE, Oklahoma

92. Eric Murray, CB, Minnesota

93. Kenneth Dixon, RB, Louisiana Tech

92. Jack Allen, OC, Michigan State

93. Harlan Miller, CB, Southestern Louisiana

94. Shon Coleman, OT, Auburn

95. Tyrone Holmes, DE/OLB, Montana

96. Austin Hooper, TE, Stanford

97. Justin Simmons, FS, Boston College

98. Miles Killebrew, SS/LB, Southern Utah

99. Steven Daniels, ILB, Boston College

101. Joe Schobert, OLB, Wisconsin

102. Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State

103. Deandre Houston-Carson, FS, William & Mary

104. Matt Judon, DE, Grand Valley State

105. Pharoh Cooper, WR, South Carolina

106. KJ Dillon, FS, West Virginia

107. Xavien Howard, CB, Baylor

108. Tajae Sharpe, WR, Massachusetts

109. Kevon Seymour, CB, Southern California

110. Zack Sanchez, CB, Oklahoma

111. Tyler Johnstone, OT, Oregon