The Ringer

Rock-solidRock-solid certainties aren’t easy to come by at this time of year, but there sure seems to be more mystery surrounding the top picks in Thursday’s NFL draft than in any other year in recent memory. All the espionage-style subterfuge that teams carry out in the run-up to the big event seems to have worked: Only Cleveland GM John Dorsey knows which quarterback the Browns will select with the first overall pick. No one has any clue what the Giants plan to do at no. 2. And it’s anyone’s guess as to which quarterback the Jets prefer at no. 3; whether the Browns would like to trade back from no. 4 or stick there and pick; or what the hell John Elway plans to do with no. 5. Still, we mock drafters steadfastly toil on, trying to separate the legitimate-rumor wheat from the team-planted-trickery chaff—parsing press conference transcripts and top-30-visit lists while heeding variables like team needs, draft tendencies, overall positional value, and more. With all those elements in mind, here’s my final look at how I think the first round will play out.