The 2017 NFL Draft is set to go underway in Philadelphia this weekend.
With the NCAA’s best talent assembled in Philly, the drama at the top of the draft appears non-existent this year with Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett in place atop the draft board for the Cleveland Browns. That doesn’t mean the weekend will be devoid of drama and unpredictability over the course of the proceedings this weekend.
Following are three bold predictions for the first two days of the draft:
The Marshawn Lynch saga won’t be settled by the end of draft weekend
One of the biggest stories in the month before draft weekend features a marquee name that is significantly older in age and shares a distinction with the rookie class in not playing a single snap of NFL football in 2016. The potential return of star running back Marshawn Lynch – likely to his hometown Oakland Raiders – took away the spotlight from the likes of Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey and thrust it fully on the notoriously low-key Lynch.
The storyline of Lynch and his dream homecoming to play in his beloved city of Oakland before the Raiders head off to Las Vegas that has dominated the post-free agency news cycle is set to creep into the proceedings in Philadelphia. Raiders front office boss Reggie McKenzie isn’t in a hurry to flinch in negotiations with Lynch. Nor is McKenzie pushing the agenda with Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider to arrange the necessary trade and new contract to get the deal done. With good reason, as the Raiders will only garner further leverage once the possibility of McKenzie simply walking away from the table and drafting a running back in the first two days of the draft comes into play.
Seahawks beat writer Gregg Bell reported Schneider believes this week and the draft is the deadline for a Lynch agreement with the Raiders before a trade would be made. However, don’t be surprised if McKenzie attempts to further the hometown discount and allows the draft weekend to pass in the ongoing negotiations with the 31-year-old Lynch. After Adrian Peterson settled for slightly under $4 million with the Saints earlier this week, McKenzie could allow the market to cool down to get Lynch closer to a number that would make sense for the Raiders. If that happens, the Lynch saga could seep into May and give NFL media members something to talk about in the dog days that follow the draft.
Joe Mixon will be selected in the Top 50
Oklahoma Sooners running back Joe Mixon is part of the aforementioned stocked ’17 class of tailbacks who will take center stage at the draft this weekend. Unlike Fournette and Christian McCaffrey, Mixon’s draft stock is viewed through a lens that includes plenty of debate from league owners and general managers over an unfortunate and disgusting incident during an altercation with a woman inside of a Norman sandwich shop. The incident drew national attention and criticism of both Mixon and the Sooners football program after surveillance video of Mixon punching a woman was released by Mixon’s lawyers last year after the running back had already sat out of the 2014 season for the assault.
Since the video was released in 2016, Mixon apologized for the ordeal publicly for the first time and was subsequently banned from the combine in Indianapolis due to a rule that barred players with violent criminal records. Now, the question in Philadelphia will be if Mixon convinced enough front offices around the league to avoid a dramatic fall in the draft in an NFL landscape that is rightfully unkind to players who commit acts of violence against women in recent years.
The key question for Mixon will be if NFL teams can believe that the talented running back will make the most of his second opportunity at a football career after he exhibited a lack of judgment and morals in his decision to punch a woman during an altercation. Mixon proved he is a special player on the field after a dominant final collegiate season and in a league that is still about talent, there is an overwhelming sense that Mixon will land either in the latter stages of the first round or as a guaranteed Day 2 pick. With several teams in need of a running back and Mixon’s status as one of the best available at the position, it is inevitable that the divisive prospect will land in the Top 50 of the draft this weekend. How the pick is perceived will be another story, but Mixon’s talent and the need for scouts to find the next Ezekiel Elliott will ensure he doesn’t slide too far down the draft board.
Kansas City will draft Alex Smith’s eventual heir in the first round
This prediction airs less on the side of bold than the first two takes in this column. However, the Kansas City Chiefs need to look to the post-Alex Smith future has a poor man’s Brett Favre-Arron Rodgers scenario brewing before the draft. The 32-year-old Smith failed yet again to get his team over the postseason hump after yet another year of regular season success when the Steelers managed to end their season via six field goals in an ugly 18-16 AFC Divisional Round exit for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs’ shock exit from the playoffs in January sets the momentum of an exit strategy from the veteran quarterback, who appears destined to end his career without a Super Bowl run. A loss at home without conceding a single touchdown calls for desperate measures and general manager John Dorsey could look to the first round to bring in the heir apparent to Smith.
With the potential of Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer to be available in the latter picks of the first round, the pieces are in place for Dorsey to pull the trigger on a succession plan at quarterback that is fully justified after Smith failed to break the glass ceiling yet again. It would be a slight shock for the Chiefs to not fill another hole in their roster with their first round pick – but with a late pick on the first day of the draft – the timing seems right for Dorsey to finally pull the trigger and begin to move on from the Smith era with a slow build towards an exciting youngster.
