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NFL.com scout Lance Zierlein put together a list of his 38 “instant impact” players in the 2017 NFL Draft. He broke those players down in to three subcategories: Gamechangers (15), safe picks (15), and “in the right system...” (8). Here are his 15 Gamechangers ranked in order of highest ceiling:
- Myles Garrett, EDGE, Texas A&M
- Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
- Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
- Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama
- Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
- Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
- Jamal Adams, S, LSU
- Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
- Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
- Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
- Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
- O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
- Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
- Reuben Foster, ILB, Alabama
- David Njoku, TE, Miami
I kind of consider this the Ruston Webster Big Board since he admittedly is looking at the prospect’s ceilings only with no consideration for floor or the likelihood of them getting there. He admitted that Trubisky and McDowell were reaches based on what they showed on tape and I would definitely agree with that. McDowell is one of the prospects that I most want the Titans to avoid.
Zierlein also states that he has Garrett as far and away the best prospect in the draft and comps him to Julius Peppers. I think that's pretty fair. Out of the rest of those top 15 he feels safest about Thomas, Allen, Adams, and Lattimore. All 4 of those guys seem to be in play for the Titans at 5 if they choose to stay there and pick.
He has Mike Williams, Corey Davis, and John Ross all lumped in to his next tier. The good news is that we should leave the 1st round with 2 of these instant impact type guys. What do you guys think of Lance’s list?