2017 NBA Mock Draft, The Process Realized

#1. Philadelphia 76ers - PG Markelle Fultz (Washington)

Dean Rutz - The Seattle Times
The only piece missing from the 76ers' "process" being realized was a point guard and they traded up to acquire the best PG in a draft loaded at that position.

The process has finally come to fruition. In an officially announced trade, the Sixers have acquired the #1 overall pick so that they can fill their need at the guard position. With Fultz, Covington, Saric, Simmons and Embiid on the court, they will be a playoff team and it's all thanks to years of hard-fought sucking and crafty former GM Sam Hinkie turning the awful Andrew Bynum deal into everything we see today. Fultz can do a little bit of everything and might be the best player on this roster after Thursday.

#2. Los Angeles Lakers - PG Lonzo Ball (UCLA)

AP Photo/David Zalubowski
The most talked about prospect goes to the NBA's most overly-discussed franchise.

Unless the 76ers are playing the crazy long-con game, the next player selected will be the pass-happy phenom of Los Angeles, Lonzo Ball. The only question is whether or not the Lakers keep the pick or are they ready to jump at the two hot free agents (Paul George & Jimmy Butler) of next offseason. Luckily for new GM Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson, it should be impossible to screw this pick up despite the eldest son of Lavar Ball's broken shooting mechanics. 

#3. Boston Celtics - SF Josh Jackson (Kansas)

Jeff Jacobsen/Kansas Athletics
The Celtics will not miss out on their main draft target (Jackson) despite the trade down.

Josh Jackson had risen up draft boards immediately following his stellar run in the March Madness tournament. Boston did not need another point guard after dramatic improvements from Isaiah Thomas and Terry Rozier so, they traded down two spots. In all likelihood, GM Danny Ainge felt comfortable making the deal because their main target for the first pick (either Jackson or Jayson Tatum) will still be available and simultaneously, a much better fit for contending in the East as soon as possible.

#4. Phoenix Suns - PG De'Aaron Fox (Kentucky)

Joe Robbins/Getty Images
The Suns love their point guards from Kentucky and will add another if they are unable to find a trade partner.

Another team possibly looking for a proven star instead of younger depth, it would surprise nobody if the Suns dealt the fourth pick in the draft. On the other hand, it would also surprise nobody if the team that already rosters Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and Tyler Ulis decided to take any point guard from Kentucky. I have heard that Fox, the quickest player in the draft, is also the only player that wouldn't mind going to the Sacramento Kings at #5. There are an endless array of possibilities for pick #4 and I'm betting on the Suns giving the tall duo of Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender another season before drafting additional competition.

#5. Sacramento Kings - SG Malik Monk (Kentucky)

Chet White/UK Athletics
Kings owner Vivek Ranidive adores anybody with a jumper and Monk would be the closest thing to his backcourt teammate (De'Aaron Fox) that Sacramento would accept. 

Sacramento is dedicated to making Buddy Hield a superstar and drafting Malik Monk does not undo any of the good they have already done with the former Pelican. If their main target (Fox) truly is too good to fall past Phoenix, then the Kings will take the next best available guard. With Ben McLemore, Darren Collison, Ty Lawson and Tyreke Evans all potentially departing this offseason, they will need the best available guard.

#6. Orlando Magic - SF Jayson Tatum (Duke)

Mark Dolejs - USA TODAY Sports
Orlando is hoping that Tatum is the player to save their team from basketball purgatory.

The direction of the Magic's future has been unclear since they dealt away Victor Oladipo, their best player, at the 2016 NBA Draft. The one player left with obvious star potential is Tatum, an athletic forward with a high-percentage shot. Frank Vogel is all about 3-and-D players and every player drafted by the previous regime with those skills has failed to deliver on expectations (see: Mario Hezonja, Oladipo, etc.) despite good chunks of minutes. Tatum going this low is a bit of a surprise but, trades and the NBA Draft are synonymous so, Tatum might go as early as third and still end up in Orlando.

#7. Minnesota Timberwolves - PF Jonathan Isaac (Florida State)

Melina Vastola - USA TODAY Sports
Jonathan Isaac would be a nice big to play alongside Karl-Anthony Towns.

Tom Thibodeau's first season in charge of Minnesota went poorly as Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a severe regression on defense and the chronic rookie-denier sat lottery pick Kris Dunn too often in favor of wasting the energy of improving young core players like Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins. LaVine even managed to tear an ACL after Thibs gave him 30+ minutes in multiple games LaVine never should have played in due to an already sore leg. The coach likely wants more defense (or if recent reports are true, a reunion of his failed team in Chicago) and Jonathan Isaac has a higher defensive ceiling than most bigs in this class. Good luck getting minutes next season, Isaac.

#8. New York Knicks - PG Dennis Smith Jr. (NC State)

Brad Penner - USA TODAY Sports
Smith will be a better version of what the Knicks thought Derrick Rose might still be.

Speaking of teams with questionable leadership, Phil Jackson's fun house from hell wants to keep making the triangle offense a thing. Derrick Rose is almost certainly leaving after a moody season in the big apple. Luckily for James Dolan and his ragtag gang of circus clowns, Dennis Smith is as explosive as Rose was last season right now and should only improve given he does not tear any major ligaments. The eighth pick should not be as depressing as New York media claims it to be after another season of low effort.

#9. Dallas Mavericks - PF Lauri Markkanen (Arizona)

Christian Petersen - Getty Images
The player most frequently compared to Dirk Nowitzki joins the man himself as an eventual replacement.

Nobody in this draft is going to score 30,000 points like the face of the Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki but, Markkanen has a similar set of skills with room to improve in the paint. Mark Cuban's team has rarely owned a first-round pick so, this pick is anybody's guess. I see Markkanen as the best player around at nine picks in and the team still needs a power forward for the future. Dirk is 39 after all.

#10. Sacramento Kings - PG Frank Ntilikina (France)

Getty Images
The Kings should look to continue digging for star-potential guards with Ntilikina at the top of the board.

As mentioned with the fifth pick, Sacramento is likely looking for guard help and the best point guard after Fox is either Smith or Frank Ntilikina. Sacramento seems like a team that likes to take chances on a foreign prospect annually and Ntilikina is more reliable defensively than Smith. Of course, none of this happens if they make the right offer for the fourth pick.

#11. Charlotte Hornets - PF Harry Giles (Duke)

Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
With good coaching, Harry Giles could wind up as a steal for whoever drafts him.

The Hornets may have already added Dwight Howard for some meaningless wastes of contracts but, there is still room in Charlotte for an athletic big. Even if Giles is only a project pick that requires Steve Clifford to up his game as a head coach, he will still get immediate minutes with only Marvin Williams shooting his way into the starting lineup over the former Duke backup.

#12. Detroit Pistons - C Zach Collins (Gonzaga)

Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review
The most natural center in the draft gets to sit behind Andre Drummond for a bit.

Detroit seems to refuse admitting that they need to rebuild or forever be a nine-seed. Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Andre Drummond are not the future of this franchise and Stanley Johnson only might be. Center may not be the best place for them to begin their rebuild but, there are no better players remaining on my hypothetical board so, why not take a big if Stan Van Gundy is not ready to give up on their mediocre cast.

#13. Denver Nuggets - SF OG Anunoby (Indiana)

Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
Ogugua Anunoby could end up replacing Danilo Gallinari in Colorado.

OG Anunoby is more defensively skilled than either Danilo Gallinari or Wilson Chandler. Both players, coincidentally, could exit the rocky mountains this Summer. The Nuggets already have plenty of offensively skilled players in Nikola Jokic, Mason Plumlee, Will Barton and the currently-bubbling Gary Harris. Anunoby won't be the sexiest pick but, he is a good fit for a team on the verge of winning.

#14. Miami Heat - PF Edrice "Bam" Adebayo (Kentucky)

Jon Hale/The Courier-Journal
The Heat will continue to go all in on defense with the selection of the best Wildcat defender.

Miami's resilient 30-11 finish after an 11-30 beginning will attract the enormous names that Miami is accustomed to attracting in free agency, as if Pat Riley's presence and expertise weren't enough. The Heat will easily be able to get a player that does everything offensively one way or another. With the 14th selection, I have Miami betting on their own superior capability to turn a player that's all defense (like Adebayo) into an all-around stud (see: Hassan Whiteside and James Johnson).

#15. Portland Trail Blazers - PF T.J. Leaf (UCLA)

UCLA Athletics
Portland adds to their rotation with their first of three firsts likely playing a key role all season.

Simply put, the Trail Blazers need bodies for their badly bruised bench. Leaf will help Portland keep up their continued quest at conquering the Warriors at Golden State's deep-shooting game. That may not be their best usage of their first pick but again, they get two more chances at not botching this whole thing in the first two hours.

#16. Chicago Bulls - SG Donovan Mitchell (Louisville)

USA TODAY Sports
With Jimmy Butler's time in Chicago running out, the Bulls must think fast on possible replacements.

No matter how this draft ends, the Bulls are fucked. Either the GM duo of GarPax deals Jimmy Butler for 50 cents on the dollar or they have another year of mediocrity ahead with old Dwyane Wade, moody Rajon Rondo and Robin Lopez. If they take Mitchell, Chicago will at least have a guard for safe-keeping in case of a firesale.

#17. Milwaukee Bucks - SG Luke Kennard (Duke)

Brad Penner - USA TODAY Sports
The Bucks still need shooting and Kennard just happens to fall to them at pick #17.

Milwaukee desperately needs a big man in case Greg Monroe is no longer around to steal all of John Henson's minutes. The only thing they still need slightly more of as soon as possible is a shooter to steal all of Rashad Vaughn and maybe Jason Terry's minutes. The fundamentals are all there with Duke's lesser-hated white dude and it's not like the Bucks need any more lengthy defensive disruptors when a shooter like this falls to them.

#18. Indiana Pacers - SF Justin Jackson (North Carolina)

Mark Dolejs - USA TODAY Sports
If they do indeed trade Paul George, the Pacers will need an NBA-ready forward to slow the bleeding caused by losing a star and Jackson is ready for the league right now.

Similar to the Bulls' situation, Indiana is considerably more likely to lose their superstar but, they at least have the hope that Myles Turner continues his ascent. Justin Jackson is one of the more NBA-ready players in the draft and should help control the bleeding caused by George's eventual absence. His recently discovered shooting hand is questionable at best but, he'll give Indiana productive time on the court immediately ala Danny Granger.

#19. Atlanta Hawks - SG Terrance Ferguson (Australia)

Sarah Reed
Atlanta adds a Kent Bazemore-like versatile guard/forward in Ferguson.

The Hawks have waved the white flag on the 2017-18 season after dealing Dwight Howard for Miles Plumlee's stupid contract and Marco Belinelli's future second-rounder value. This move signifies that they have admitted defeat on re-signing Paul Millsap and probably even the egregious Kent Bazemore contract. While Bazemore is still employed in Georgia, the GMless Hawks are best off taking a draft-and-groom prospect like the 19-year old that chose to come off the bench in Australia over college.

#20. Portland Trail Blazers - SF Jonah Bolden (Australia)

FMP
Former UCLA forward Bolden will still be able to sneak into the first round after a year abroad.

3-and-D players are so hot right now. The Blazers tried to win the west with some crazy contracts and an attempt at turning into the Warriors. One of the Warriors most valuable players is Draymond Green, a 3-and-D guy with major emphasis on the defense. Bolden is not Draymond but, he can be Al-Farouq Aminu with a better jumper if he stays the exact same as he is right now. This former UCLA Bruin left for Australia and came back with a higher floor than your average prospect.

#21. Oklahoma City Thunder - PG Jawun Evans (Oklahoma State)

Stephen Pingry/Tulsa World
The explosive Evans stays in Oklahoma with OKC needing a backup for their MVP.

Jawun Evans does not have first-round potential but, that did not stop GM Sam Presti from taking Cameron Payne, a similar guard with a worse shot, two years ago. Evans is a homeless man's version of Russell Westbrook. He is an explosive player that is extremely capable of playing quality offense, even though he may hog the ball sometimes. The Thunder's championship odds likely do not depend on this pick and they will need to do some serious digging for help for their MVP in free agency.

#22. Brooklyn Nets - PF D.J. Wilson (Michigan)

Michael Conroy/AP Photo
After a March breakout, Wilson will help the Nets avoid the NBA's basement in 2017/18.

Brooklyn does not want to tank yet has no reasonable expectation to win. This is the worst state to be in as a franchise and it's all thanks to former GM Billy King and the KG-Pierce-Terry for picks five years in the future. Until they start receiving their own draft picks again in 2019, the Nets should take a scorer like Wilson while their defense seems in tact despite rostering zero all-stars. The 22nd pick will not suddenly make the Nets good but, it can help them avoid atrocious basketball.

#23. Toronto Raptors - PF John Collins (Wake Forest)

Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Collins is a stronger pick in 2017 than Pascal Siakam was in 2016 for Toronto.

The two deadline acquisitions that the Raptors made last year (Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker) are expiring contracts and likely gone this Summer. This opens up space for another forward and clearly, this team does not want 2016 pick Pascal Siakam starting for them or else they would have felt comfortable with him in February. John Collins is not the defender that any of the current Raptors are but, his scoring ability is more NBA-ready than Siakam's defense and somebody other than DeMar DeRozan needs to get buckets if Kyle Lowry is indeed gone.

#24. Utah Jazz - C Jarrett Allen (Texas)

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Along with Josh Jackson, Allen is bringing the classic afro hairstyle back into the NBA.

Texas basketball has only had one player drafted in the last five NBA classes (Myles Turner) and Jarrett Allen is here to try and reinvigorate the repertoire of the Longhorns' basketball program. Of course, Allen does not have star potential but, the man is lengthy and has a comparable game to an NBA champion, JaVale McGee. Utah doesn't NEED a center the way they NEED to make sure Gordon Heyward stays in Salt Lake and as long as they keep Heyward, they are only one bigger piece than the #24 pick away from making the Warriors (or at least the Spurs) shake a bit.

#25. Orlando Magic - C Anzejs Pasecniks (Latvia)

Orlando needs a backup big and good luck pronouncing this one, Adam Silver.

Pasecniks' value confuses me. The Latvian center is very mobile for a seven-footer and has no obvious skills with a high ceiling. He is as much of an unknown as 2014 prospects Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bruno Caboclo. Anzejs could become the player that takes over for overpriced Nikola Vucevic' or he'll just be additional young depth taking a seat on the bench for a few years.

#26. Portland Trail Blazers - C Ike Anigbogu (UCLA)

Portland fills their need for big man depth with their third first-rounder of three.

With the Trail Blazers' final first round pick and their last scheduled pick, they officially erase their fans' minds of the Festus Ezeli contract. Anigbogu would be Portland's lone center behind folk hero Jusuf Nurkic. Ike's play defensively will be the perfect compliment to all of the team's shooters and the two picks (Leaf and Bolden) that I've already given them.

#27. Los Angeles Lakers - PF Caleb Swanigan (Purdue)

USA TODAY Sports
Originally my pick for Brooklyn, the Lakers land a stat-machine in Swanigan.

I fell in love with Purdue this March because of Swanigan and his story of overcoming his living situation as a child (including weighing 380 pounds at age 13) to becoming a potential first-rounder. The 6'9'' forward averaged 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds his sophomore season and was 2016-17's Denzel Valentine Box Score MVP. Not to seem like too much of an armchair psychologist but, Swanigan seems like the gritty type of player that Magic Johnson would love to have on his team with the added modern bonus of a decent long-range shot.

#28. Los Angeles Lakers - PF Isaiah Hartenstein (Germany)

Hartenstein is the most mysterious potential first-round pick and LA might just bite on unknown potential.

With three first round picks, the Lakers are bound to take a chance on a foreign talent that may not come to the USA right away. Hartenstein is much like Anzejs Pasecniks in their totally unknown ceilings and under-developed skill sets.

#29. San Antonio Spurs - SF Semi Ojeleye (SMU)

Vincent Carchietta - USA TODAY Sports
A 3-and-D sleeper pick, Ojeleye lands to the one team that could make him a star.

Gregg Poppovich has turned Danny Green, Jonathon Simmons and Kawhi Leonard into complete NBA players. Semi Ojeleye is the player most likely to be taken outside of the top ten and still possibly turn into Leonard. If he doesn't step foot into a gym or doesn't work on his handles, there will be problems as he is very inconsistent right now but, there is promise here.

#30. Utah Jazz - SG Josh Hart (Villanova)

Adam Hunger - USA TODAY Sports
Josh Hart would be a nice fit off of Utah's bench.

Utah might package their two late firsts for an earlier draft pick but in case they don't do that... Here you go Utah. In a world where nobody stands a chance against the greatest and most three-point friendly team ever (Golden State), the Jazz should just take a shooter like Hart since they are already nearly on par with the Warriors' defense. Hart might not get the best separation on the court but, at least he's had some experience with winning.

These Playoffs Were The Hardest Road

I'm not mad at Kevin Durant, I'm happy that another player has lifted the unfair "YEAH BUT, WHERE ARE YOUR RINGS?" debate off of his shoulders. I am extremely upset for the remaining 29 teams in the NBA that have virtually no present or near-future opportunity at winning a championship (or in the western conference's case, reaching a Finals) without MULTIPLE great players falling to a catastrophic injury. What chance does a team like the Utah Jazz, a team has done everything right from a developmental standpoint, have when they reside in the barren wasteland that is Utah? The Jazz are especially out of luck when you consider that they are about to lose their strongest all-around player (Gordon Heyward) to another SUPERDUPERTEAM destination like Miami or Boston, who have had recent runs of success based on unproven teams created via multiple sly acquisitions.

Rings culture has killed the NBA's casual, non-contending teams' fans, when all people everywhere do is add unnecessary pressure to the all-time greats by pointing out a players' championships won. Wilt Chamberlain only gets downgraded in everybody's all-time rankings for playing at the same time as Bill Russell and a homegrown superteam like the 1960s Boston Celtics. Charles Barkley only gets downgraded for playing at the same time as all-time greats like Kareem, Magic and Michael Jordan. Steve Nash and Allen Iverson will never get the respect they deserve because they had to play against the Kobe Bryants, Tim Duncans and Shaquille O'Neals of the world. Sure, there were some fun and unique champions along the way in the seventies, with the early-90s and '04 Pistons and even the 2011 Dallas Mavericks but for the most part, the league has always seen the best player in the league at any given time in the Finals. Kevin Durant was about to become another one of those "YEAH BUT..." players until he joined Golden State and took down the latest GOAT, Lebron James.

If we didn't have these barber shop-type hot take-laden debate shows that mindlessly continue the rings culture, the league might not be looking ahead at the next 4-5 years of utter hopelessness spread countrywide. Kevin Durant has been consistent in his reasoning for signing with the Golden State Warriors, he enjoys the way they play. That's really just a not-so-well-disguised way of saying "they're winners, they went 73-9, OKC, Miami and Boston did not go 73-9 last year and dammit, I want to win and have fun doing so". Again, I will not fault Durant for ruining the competitive balance of the NBA in a way that has never been done before. The only reason outside of that desire to win pointless barber shop arguments that KD to GS became a thing was because of the ridiculous cap spike in 2016 that rightfully rewarded the players while simultaneously and unexpectedly taking away from fans' enjoyment because of one transaction. There is no easy or sudden fix to this problem (and it will be a problem numbers-wise beginning next season) when Durant has openly suggested he would take a pay cut to stay when Draymond Green and Klay Thompson's contracts are up after next season.

AP
Kevin Durant's "hardest road" quote is his version of "taking my talents to South Beach" in it's lack of self-awareness.

The Golden State Warriors would have won last year's NBA Finals in five games had Draymond Green been kinder to his fellow man's testicular area and instead, they only won in five games this year because the Cleveland Cavaliers had the greatest offensive half of basketball in NBA history. I'm beginning to think this was Draymond's plan all along. Thus concludes my Finals recap.

So long and farewell to my least favorite postseason I have ever had the displeasure of watching as Russell Westbrook and James Harden proved just how meaningless the regular season is, Zaza Pachulia may have purposely injured a robot to kill a series and the NBA ruined it's own product for a few years thanks to a sudden spike in money available to teams (including one 73-9 team) for immediate spending, thus rendering the postseason just as meaningless for a couple of years. At the end of the day, we are all at fault for the greatest team in NBA history.

The Threematch: What everyone has been waiting for?

Well, all of THAT kind of sucked. Thankfully the NBA's preseason-like playoffs have concluded and the league is right back where it started this year with Cleveland getting another chance to "defend the land" against the greatest superteam ever assembled in the Golden State Warriors. Neither team has been tested thus far throughout the postseason (although shout out to Indiana on a fun series) and frankly, anybody that claims to have any idea what a superduperteam can do versus the most dominant lethargic postseason team I have ever seen is lying. Nobody has any clue what will happen with these two when neither team has faced any real adversity (Lebron's game 3 sickness does not count) nor have either them given full effort for three consecutive games these playoffs. How can you tell when a team isn't giving full effort? It's pretty simple really. For Golden State, not giving full effort usually involves a heavy reliance on JaVale McGee in the paint and heavy minutes to the Patrick McCaws and David Wests of the world. Cleveland got to the point against Boston where they just let Kevin Love take a majority of his shots from beyond the arc and Lebron was being a bit more passive than we've seen from him all season.

These playoffs were soooooooo obvious that I stopped recapping the series immediately because there was absolutely nothing to learn from the results other than which teams should be ready to blow things up and start over anew. Toronto is about to lose Kyle Lowry in free agency (Philly?) and even if they don't, the man looked past his prime this postseason, which is his natural postseason style of play. Kyle Lowry is not winning anybody a championship in their starting lineup. The Clippers also need to blow things up and I would start by removing Doc Rivers from the front office but, since that team has no balls after an eternity of sucking and this sudden, five-year stretch of success under Rivers, they'll probably just keep everybody and depress their fans more than fifty years of losing ever did. Houston and Oklahoma City will return to the playoffs next year but, both teams need to find ways to compliment two uncomplimentable (new word!) stat-hogs for a shot at the Western Conference Finals. The good news is that the future of the Celtics, Bucks, Spurs, Wizards and Jazz will be fun to watch. Just don't count on any of them to prod their way into the Finals while Lebron and the greatest team ever assembled are still fully functioning.


#1 Golden State Warriors v. #2 Cleveland Cavaliers
In order to decipher a winner for this series, one has to observe the key differences between last year's GREATEST FINALS EVER (in terms of entertainment value, sorry Golden State) and this year's squads.

1. Mike Brown will likely be coaching Golden State instead of Steve Kerr due to Kerr's continuously scary back issues.
2. Draymond Green is coming in with no ejectionable offenses and therefor, is unlikely to get suspended during the series.
3. Cleveland lost Timofey Mozgov, Matthew Dellavedova, Mo Williams and Jordan McRae and added Kyle Korver, Deron Williams, Derrick Williams and Kay Felder
4. Golden State lost Leandro Barbosa, Anderson Varejao, Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli and Brandon Rush and added Kevin Durant (!), Patrick McCaw, David West, JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, Matt Barnes and Damian Jones
5. Ty Lue is no longer a rookie head coach.
6. Stephen Curry didn't just suffer a minor ankle injury but both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving did (Pachulia is injured also but, that is not that important)
7. The Warriors weren't trying to go for a historic regular season and instead, saved all of their dominant nonsense for the postseason.
8. Klay Thompson has been frozen cold the last 45 days.
9. Golden State has a 3-day rest edge over Cleveland as opposed to Cleveland having 7 extra days before the Warriors took out OKC in 7.
10. Even though it doesn't mean anything as far as winning or losing are concerned, the Warriors have a higher Boring:Fun ratio with KD on the court and it's sad that something as beautiful to watch as Steph and Klay hitting 600 threes a year is no longer this team's pace.

Scott Cunningham - Getty Images
The addition of Kyle Korver will help Cleveland in response to any deep-shooting runs that the Warriors go on.

Ultimately, we all just want a fun series with exciting plays, drama, ridiculous box scores and no more testicular interruption from Draymond.

                          My Pick: Warriors in 4.

If anybody knows how to prevent Lebron James from winning an NBA Finals, that man is Mike Brown. In all seriousness, I think Golden State enjoyed their rest and if it's going to be an ugly series, I'd rather have witnessed history that would forever alter the league (Adam Silver would go to the furthest lengths in order to make sure no former MVPs join a 73-win team again unless that MVP is Derrick Rose) than see Golden State win in 5 and start the "Can Durant ever be an all-time great?" discussions. Plenty of weird shit can go down between now and game 4 but, this prediction was made without any injuries predicted (there's bound to be one) and under the belief that this is truly the greatest team ever assembled even though their bench is not quite as deep as the past two seasons.

Again, I don't claim to know what in the wide world of sports is about to happen over the next two weeks, all I know is that it needs to be entertaining or historic to make fans forget the past month and a half of non-competitive basketball. Thank god for the unpredictable mess that is Major League Baseball.

The NBA Playoffs from Hell

By now, everyone holds the same, correct opinion that this year's NBA Postseason has been absolute trash in so many unimaginable ways. The Cavaliers and Warriors were the obvious favorites in their respective conferences but, even naive mid-April Andy Todd didn't have both teams sweeping their conferences the way they are about to do. Every game featuring Golden State has been a similar experience to that time as an 8-year old when I sprayed that grape spray candy in my eyes (accidental, not an experiment at all, I swear. 2/10 would not reccomend).

These had to be far less expensive than pepper spray. Somebody alert the police.

The problem with Golden State is not at all a problem for Golden State as it is for the NBA. The problem isn't an issue at all for the team itself as this is working magnificently well for them but, they just plain do not need Kevin Durant until the NBA Finals and he's ruined the exciting "let's just shoot threes from half court blindfolded because Steph has a bet to settle" style with which the Warriors used to play. Why shoot highly contested 35 footers when someone's being double-covered and either KD or Draymond are wide open from Splashville, USA? It is just unwatchable thus far and the wheezing, robotic Spurs are highly unlikely to present a challenge or any heightened sense of excitement.

It isn't fair to solely place the blame on America's most boring superstar, Kevin Durant, on this being Charles Barkley's "Worst playoffs ever, Erneh". In fact, I think it's time we overhaul the entire rule book and figure out a way to not give the MVP award to Russell Westbrook or James Harden. We were all wrong about both of them being anything more than stat-padders that never cared about winning the championship as much as their own personal brands as Lebron and the Bay Area Quartet rested up for the only four-to-seven games from this postseason that anybody will be able to recall (barring more blowouts). Who can blame either guy for never truly being all in when inevitable defeat was in their futures no matter how hard they tried? At least they'll both be healthy for next season's pointless regular season victory laps.

That sounded far less harsh in my head than it does in print and these two players do not deserve as much criticism as they will and have received either when their coaches set them up for disastrous failures. Whether or not Russell Westbrook has the greatest teammates in the world was made entirely irrelevant when Billy Donovan set a new record for Usage Rate of a single player (Westbrook) over the regular and somehow made things even harder and more ball-hoggish in the postseason only for the entire Thunder bandwagon to go down in flames after five games.

Donovan is not even the worst example of coaching "expertise" from the western conference this past month. According to Mike D'antoni, trotting out a seven-player rotation featuring one true big (the still too young to be 100% trusted Clint Capela) is the ideal supporting cast for his one superstar player. Good luck convincing free agents to build a big three when they'll be forced to make up for Harden's defense and drive to the paint for forty minutes a game come playoff time. There's a reason this man has lost all five postseason series he has been involved in against Gregg Popovich and it's his constant refusal to make adjustments in high-intensity situations. Strictly sticking to D'Antoni-ball and not at least trying to mix things up defensively will guarantee that the fantastic regular season coach never wins a championship. We've seen enough of him, unlike Donovan, Westbrook and Harden, to determine he's never going to hold up the Larry O'Brien trophy due to stubbornness. He is the NBA's Andy Reid and without a sudden change of thinking in his sixties, Houston has a problem.

Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports
Regular season success? Check. Likeable personality? Check. Mustache? Yes!

Cleveland has at least managed to keep their games close (Indiana) or fun in a "ha, there's no way we're blowing this" manner (Toronto). There are some legitimate questions about Tyronn Lue's defense and the team could actually drop a game or two in either Boston or Washington but, there are very few who believe the Cavaliers will lose in the third round. I'm not even certain those conspiracy theorists exist. We are all impatiently awaiting the finals and this is exactly what every pessimistic fan said we'd be doing all the way back in July and it honestly sucks because I too want to see the Warriors and Cavs play right away but, what if one of them doesn't make it? Wouldn't that be an even darker timeline?

The nice thing about the lackluster postseason is that it has given me some time to enjoy this surprisingly long Spring season. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the never-ending cycle of great music these last few weeks from Perfume Genius's No Shape record to Feist's quietly badass new album to the latest from Sylvan Esso. I guess the playoffs haven't totally consisted of trash. After all, my dynasty fantasy baseball team is in third and nothing motivates me quicker than losing interest in a basketball game to work on some unfinished business (wink, wink, there's a post a-comin' along). The Inside The NBA watched:Actual live basketball watched ratio has never been more even for me.

Here are my picks for the conference finals...

Warriors over Spurs in 4.
Cavaliers over whomever in 4.

Those takes 🔥🔥🔥 enough for you?

NBA First Round Summary and Second Round Picks

A theme that has become all too common in the first rounds of the NBA Playoffs recently is a majority of the interesting series' being defined by injuries. Blake Griffin, Rajon Rondo, Jusuf Nurkic, Tony Allen and (kind of reaching here) Jabari Parker's injuries all ended up costing their teams a game or two, if not the sefies. When Rudy Gobert went down 17 seconds into game 1 of the Clips-Jazz series, we all assumed the Jazz were in deep trouble but, thank the basketball gods for "Iso" Joe Johnson as Utah gave us the one game 7 that casual fans typically root for. Rudy Gobert even managed to be a key contributor after only missing a week due to a knee sprain and looked like he wasn't affected by the injury at all.

Sean M. Haffrey/Getty Images
Rudy Gobert saved the Jazz and the NBA from a horrid Clippers-Warriors series.

Congratulations to the Jazz, Rockets, Spurs, Warriors, Raptors, Cavaliers, Wizards and Celtics on advancing to the second round. Typically, I would go a bit further in depth on the first round of the playoffs but, with the NFL Draft taking over my headspace for the weekend, I think I will just leave my picks here and cross my fingers that I don't get embarrassed.

Celtics over Wizards in 7*
Cavaliers over Raptors in 5
Warriors over Jazz in 4
Spurs over Rockets in 7

* = Pick made before game 1 on Sunday.

The most "heated" series will be Wiz-Celts as a result of some fighting and symbolic black shirt-wearing by Wizard players during the regular season. The best series in terms of unpredictability will be Rockets-Spurs where Mike D'antoni's new-fangled basketball strategies meets the oldest team remaining in the postseason with one of the all-time greats (Gregg Popovich) leading the way. The Warriors should sweep because it's the greatest regular season team ever plus Kevin Durant. The Cavaliers might give it their all this series and even if they choose to hold off on giving full effort for another round, they'll still beat the Raptors in 6 or fewer games.

Good luck to the players providing us with entertainment on a nightly basis and may their limbs stay in tact.

2nd & 3rd Round Mock Draft

The first night of the NFL Draft was quite possibly the most interesting first round ever. There were multiple league-altering trades, the largest crowd ever present for a draft, Takkarist McKinley was fired the fuck up and there were an abundance of surprises including Gareon Conley passing a lie-detector test and going to Oakland, the Bears giving up on Mike Glennon after a month for Mitchell Trubisky, every Alabama player slipping and Kansas City choosing to wait three-ish years on reworking Patrick Mahomes back-foot heavy release. It was a night to remember and there is still a ton of drama to unfold on night 2 of 3 of the NFL Draft.

Takkarist McKinley won over many new fans with his intensity just from being drafted.

Here's a quick look at what COULD end up happening in rounds 2 and 3 before a whole series of trades ruins my mocks again...

Second Round
33. Packers - RB Dalvin Cook (Florida State)
34. Seahawks - G Forrest Lamp (Western Kentucky)
35. Jaguars - OT Cam Robinson (Alabama)
36. Bears - S Obi Melifonwu (Washington)
37. Rams - C Pat Elflein (Ohio State)
38. Chargers - DT Chris Wormley (Michigan)
39. Jets - QB DeShone Kizer (Notre Dame)
40. Panthers - CB Kevin King (Washington)
41. Bengals - DT Malik McDowell (Michigan State)
42. Saints - DE Tim Williams (Alabama)
43. Eagles - CB Quincy Wilson (Florida)
44. Bills - WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (USC)
45. Cardinals - G Dan Feeney (Indiana)
46. Colts - CB Chidobe Awuzie (Colorado)
47. Ravens - WR Zay Jones (East Carolina)
48. Vikings - C Ethan Pocic (LSU)
49. Washington - RB Alvin Kamara (Tennessee)
50. Buccaneers - OLB Tyus Bowser (Houston)
51. Broncos - DT Davon Godchaux (LSU)
52. Browns - CB Desmond King (Iowa)
53. Lions - WR Chris Godwin (Penn State)
54. Dolphins - CB Sidney Jones (Washington)
55. Giants - ILB Zach Cunningham (Vanderbilt)
56. Raiders - DT Montravious Adams (Auburn)
57. Texans - CB Fabian Moreau (UCLA)
58. Seahawks - OT Taylor Moton (Western Michigan)
59. Chiefs - DE Carl Lawson (Auburn)
60. Cowboys - CB Teez Tabor (Florida)
61. Packers - CB Howard Wilson (Houston)
62. Steelers - S Budda Baker (Washington)
63. Falcons - OT Dorian Johnson (Pittsburgh)
64. Panthers - OT Roderick Johnson (Florida State)

Third Round
65. Browns - DT Dalvin Tomlinson (Alabama)
66. 49ers - QB Davis Webb (California)
67. 49ers - S Marcus Williams  (Utah)
68. Jaguars - TE Jordan Leggett (Clemson)
69. Rams - WR Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington)
70. Jets - TE George Kittle (Iowa)
71. Chargers - RB Curtis Samuel (Ohio State)
72. Patriots - OLB Jordan Willis (Kansas State)
73. Bengals - CB Shaquill Griffin (Central Florida)
74. Ravens - RB Brian Hill (Wyoming)
75. Bills - RB D'onta Foreman (Texas)
76. Saints - OLB Ryan Anderson (Alabama)
77. Cardinals - WR Josh Malone (Tennessee)
78. Ravens - DE Tanoh Kpassagnon (Villanova)
79. Vikings - OT Dion Dawkins (Temple)
80. Colts - OT Larry Ogunjobi (Charlotte)
81. Washington - CB Cordrea Tankersley (Clemson)
82. Broncos - WR Malachi Dupre (LSU)
83. Titans - DE DeMarcus Walker (Florida State)
84. Buccaneers - S Josh Jones (NC State)
85. Lions - RB James Conner (Pittsburgh)
86. Vikings - S Tedric Thompson (Colorado)
87. Giants - S Marcus Maye (Minnesota)
88. Raiders - ILB Raekwon McMillan (Ohio State)
89. Texans - OLB Vince Biegel (Wisconsin)
90. Seahawks - DE Derek Rivers (Youngstown State)
91. Bills - OLB Duke Riley (LSU)
92. Cowboys - OLB Alex Anzalone (Florida)
93. Packers - DE Tarell Basham (Ohio)
94. Steelers - DE Dawuane Smoot (Illinois)
95. Seahawks - S Justin Evans (Texas A&M)
96. Patriots - G Isaac Asiata (Utah)
97. Dolphins - OT David Sharpe (Florida)
98. Panthers - WR Dede Westbrook (Oklahoma)
99. Eagles - WR Carlos Henderson (Louisiana Tech)
100. Titans - CB Jalen Myrick (Minnesota)
101. Broncos - TE Jeremy Sprinkle (Arkansas)
102. Seahawks - OT Zach Banner (USC)
103. Saints - TE Jake Butt (Michigan)
104. Chiefs - ILB Kendell Beckwith (LSU)
105. Steelers - WR Amara Darboh (Michigan)
106. Seahawks - CB Cam Sutton (Tennessee)
107. Jets - OT Antonio Garcia (Troy)

Have a great weekend as the draft concludes, first round NBA series' finish up and baseball continues baseballing.

Enjoy my 2017 NFL Mock Draft before everyone slips

By now, everyone understands the concept of a mock draft and it is a fairly easy task to complete, although accuracy is always optional, but this year's class seems especially difficult and it begins at the very top. "What are the Browns thinking?" is typically a question asked with an exclamation but, this year the Browns are all in on moneyball (or some variation of it) and have shown a willingness and affinity for acquiring more draft picks by trading down so, that is certainly a possibility with both the #1 and #12 picks. Do any of the other two teams (New Orleans and Tennessee) with multiple firsts trade around their picks also? Who knows. It's a fun idea to daydream about but, making up future trades is not really a mock draft's purpose unless you are a professional NFL GM and that I am not (Although, I will hint at teams looking to move down or up without explicitly mapping out a complicated trade prediction).

Other storylines revolve around all of the various red flags that might tear this and every other mock draft apart when Reuben Foster (diluted urine sample), Jabrill Peppers (diluted urine sample), Caleb Brantley (battery arrest) and Patrick Mahomes (odd man out at QB) all fall and have their every movement documented in the green room on live television. One of the more exciting talents on my draft board is also not going to get drafted anywhere close to the first round due to a recorded punch (at Oklahoma) and a rumored punch and more (in high school). The amount of storylines are impossible to keep up with at the moment and the way teams view some of the concerns like position scarcity or off-field issues obviously make a ton of difference on a pick-by-pick basis. After all, Joe Mixon is a legitimate character concern in a draft for a league that views Colin Kaepernick as a problem so, there's no reason Mixon should be drafted... right?

The first domino to fall will be...

#1. Cleveland Browns - DE Myles Garrett (Texas A&M)

AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Current Depth (DE): Emmanuel Ogbah, Nate Orchard, Carl Nassib, Tyrone Holmes
Other Options: QBs Mitchell Trubisky & Deshaun Watson, Trade?
Much like Pablo Honey is technically a Radiohead album, the Cleveland Browns are technically an NFL franchise and the offensive line is their "Creep", the only thing that is 100% ready for primetime and indicative of what this team wants to become. Nothing this team has done since the Courtney Brown pick would be considered "obvious" and they could go out on a limb here by trying to find their franchise quarterback again (If they do that here, it would likely be Trubisky). Again, everything is possible but, Myles Garrett is the top prospect by a fairly decent margin and Nate Orchard is not a good starter.

#2. San Francisco 49ers - QB Mitchell Trubisky (North Carolina)

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Current Depth (QB): Brian Hoyer, Matt Barkley
Other Options: QB Deshaun Watson, DEs Myles Garrett & Solomon Thomas, Safeties Jamal Adams & Malik Hooker
Another team in need of pretty much everything, the 49ers are nowhere near competing for a playoff spot and might want to build a team around some stopgap quarterbacks before finding their leader for the future. Unfortunately for them, the only two QBs new GM John Lynch was able to acquire from the scrap heap were Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley: Yawns in quarterback form. The ceilings on both are not high enough for the team to not consider adding a fancy new arm early in the draft. I think that the ownership wants to avoid another shotgunnner with questionable accuracy in some eyes (Watson) and they'll bite on the bigger unknown future of Trubisky.

#3. Chicago Bears - S Malik Hooker (Ohio State)

Joe Maiorana - USA TODAY Sports

Current Depth (S): Quintin Demps, Adrian Amos, Harold Jones-Quartey, Chris Prosinski, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Deon Bush
Other Options: DE Solomon Thomas, QBs Deshaun Watson & Mitchell Trubisky, S Jamal Adams, Trade?
Chicago is just like the first two teams in that they COULD reasonably select a quarterback (I'd like Watson to go here) but, there are so many holes to still fill on this roster that it is much safer to not embarrass yourselves with Mike Glennon for a year. Ballhawking safety Malik Hooker is a neat fix for a defensive backfield that was completely broken by injuries and underperformance in 2016.

#4. Jacksonville Jaguars - TE O.J. Howard (Alabama)

Kim Klement - USA TODAY Sports

Current Depth (TE): Mychal Rivera, Marcedes Lewis, Ben Koyack, Neal Sterling, E.J. Bibbs, Gannon Sinclair
Other Options: QB Deshaun Watson, RB Leonard Fournette, DE Solomon Thomas, Trade?
Whether Tom Coughlin was telling the truth or not this Spring when he insisted that the team will fix Blake Bortles will be tested when a certain Clemson-based quarterback is still available at pick #4. I expect Jacksonville to somehow double down on their trust in Bortles by giving him one more safety blanket in elite tight end prospect O.J. Howard before declaring the Bortles era a "failure" the way that so much of the media already has.

#5. Tennessee Titans - DE Solomon Thomas (Stanford)

Don Feria - isiphotos.com

Current Depth (DE): Jurrell Casey, Karl Klug, DaQuan Jones, Angelo Blackson, Caushaud Lyons, Mehdi Abdesmad

Other Options: WR Mike Williams, Safeties Malik Hooker & Jamal Adams, TE O.J. Howard, Trade?
Acquired in the Rams' deal up for Jared Goff last season, the Titans seem fully willing to trade down once again and why not when you could acquire future first round picks of this caliber? If they do choose to keep the pick, Tennessee could see DE Solomon Thomas slide from his projected top three value to the fifth pick. The Titans would be smart to snatch up the best player available when they are so close to a playoff team and any minor upgrade could be a humongous difference in fate.

#6. New York Jets - QB Deshaun Watson (Clemson)

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Current Depth (QB): Josh McCown, Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg

Other Options: QBs Mitchell Trubisky & DeShone Kizer, TE O.J. Howard, DT Jonathan Allen
The Jets are an absolute mess and need a great leader in the clubhouse.  By great clubhouse leader, I don't mean a grizzly veteran that's never won anything  (see: Josh McCown, Matt Forte' & David Harris). The Jets and their fans need any type of hope for the future, something they have not had since Mark Sanchez was drafted. I have been saying since the college national championship game that Watson is a lock to be drafted in the top five so, if the Jets have a chance one pick later, they better send in their pick to the commissioner before they get the chance to outthink themselves and surround a mediocre quarterback with a strong team because they've been doing that for nearly a decade. 

#7. Los Angeles Chargers - DT Jonathan Allen (Alabama)

Cedric Mason - Touchdown Alabama Magazine

Current Depth (DT): Brandon Mebane, Damion Square

Other Options: WR Mike Williams, RBs Leonard Fournette & Christian McCaffrey, QBs Deshaun Watson & Mitchell Trubisky, Trade?
The only Los Angeles-based team with a first round pick, the Chargers don't need much from their current team other than health from a few key members for them to be playoff contenders again. The biggest need on their roster is a future plan at defensive tackle and luckily for new head coach Anthony Lynn, Jonathan Allen might be the best player available at #7. 

#8. Carolina Panthers - CB Marshon Lattimore (Ohio State)

Marvin Fong - The Plain Dealer

Current Depth (CB): James Bradberry, Darryl Worley, Captain Munnerlyn, Teddy Williams, Zack Sanchez, Tyler Patmon, Lou Young, Jeff Richards

Other Options: RB Leonard Fournette, WRs Mike Williams & John Ross, Safeties Malik Hooker & Jamal Adams, Trade?
I can see why everyone thinks this is the spot for the first running back to be taken off the board with Jonathan Stewart being the one pre-2010s RB still with his original franchise and no clear successor in Charlotte. This is still a team only two years removed from a Super Bowl and the main reason for their failures last season  (outside of lingering Cam Newton injuries) were the struggles of their defensive backs against guys like Julio Jones, Mike Evans and Michael Thomas twice a year. Marshon Lattimore has a sketchy injury history but the team did reunite with Captain Munnerlyn this offseason in case of emergency.

#9. Cincinnati Bengals - S Jamal Adams (LSU)

John Korduner/Icon Sportswure

Current Depth (S): George Iloka, Shawn Williams, Clayton Fejedelem, Derron Smith

Other Options: RB Leonard Fournette, DT Jonathan Allen, G Forrest Lamp, ILB Reuben Foster
While Hooker can follow the football anywhere, Adams is more focused on disrupting players and making tackles when nobody else on the defense could. George Iloka is already a valuable starting safety and with Shawn Williams not ready to replace Reggie Nelson last season, it would seem likely that Marvin Lewis seeks an upgrade in the defensive backfield.

#10. Buffalo Bills - WR Mike Williams (Clemson)

Jamie Squire - Getty Images

Current Depth (WR): Sammy Watkins, Andre Holmes, Kolby Listenbee, Corey Brown, Walt Powell, Brandon Tate, Dezmin Lewis, Jeremy Butler, Corey Washington

Other Options: WRs John Ross & Corey Davis, QBs DeShone Kizer & Mitchell Trubisky
Sammy Watkins should be one of the best receivers in the world but, injuries have destroyed him year after year. Last season was especially difficult for Buffalo when they needed to heavily rely on Robert Woods and Marqise Goodwin while trying to decipher whether or not Tyrod Taylor was their quarterback of the future.  This seems like the most obvious position-team draft fit among the 32 teams and GM Doug Whaley would be insane not to pick one of the top three receivers unless he found a QB he loves more than Taylor.

#11. New Orleans Saints - CB Marlon Humphrey (Alabama)

Harry How/Getty Images

Current Depth (CB): Delvin Breaux, P.J. Williams, Sterling Moore, Ken Crawley, Damian Swann, De'Vante Harris, Anthony Gaitor, Taveze Calhoun, Forrest Hightower, Jimmy Pruitt

Other Options: TE O.J. Howard, CB Marshon Lattimore, WRs Mike Williams & John Ross, Trade?
The Saints' defense has been terrible for years and despite promising improvement from younger players like Breaux, Stephone Anthony and Sheldon Rankins, they are still terrible as a whole. I'm not sure how the team completely cures their defensive ailments under Sean Payton but, placing one of the top corners in the draft opposite Breaux can only help. They may also look to ship off this pick for a Malcolm Butler or a Richard Sherman or even try to replace Brandin Cooks but, they need to focus on defense and let Drew Brees do the rest. 

#12. Cleveland Browns - S/LB Jabrill Peppers (Michigan)

Sports Illustrated

Current Depth (S): Derrick Kindred, Ibraheim Campbell, Ed Reynolds, Tyvis Powell, Justin Currie

Other Options: QB Mitchell Trubisky, WRs Corey Davis & John Ross, CBs Marshon Lattimore & Marlon Humphrey, OLB T.J. Watt, Trade?
Nobody knows what this front office is thinking outside of accumulating a ton of potential and seemingly grabbing players with highly-touted college careers. Peppers was a Heisman finalist for some reason and the Browns seem like a team that would love to try the safety/linebacker hybrid that the Cardinals and Rams have had success experimenting with. 

#13. Arizona Cardinals - OT Ryan Ramczyk (Wisconsin)

Dan Sanger - Icon Sportswire

Current Depth (OT): D.J. Humphries, Jared Veldheer, Ulrick John, John Wetzel, Cole Toner, Givens Price

Other Options: QBs DeShone Kizer & Patrick Mahomes, WR John Ross, G Forrest Lamp, OT Cam Robinson
Carson Palmer won't last forever (he certainly didn't last season) and while it'd be nice to get a project QB like Kizer or Mahomes, the stubborn nature of Bruce Arians might force the team to take one last chance at protecting Palmer before starting over again. Ramczyk is the latest disciple from the Wisconsin School for Offensive Linemen who want to block and do other stuff good too. He's no Joe Thomas but, he's better than Gabe Carimi. 

#14. Philadelphia Eagles - RB Leonard Fournette (LSU)

Twitter

Current Depth (RB): Ryan Mathews, Wendell Smallwood, Darren Sproles, Terrell Watson

Other Options: RBs Dalvin Cook & Christian McCaffrey, WRs Corey Davis & John Ross, OT Ryan Ramczyk, CBs Marlon Humphrey & Marshon Lattimore
The value of the draft day running back was never lower until Ezekiel Elliott revived the position last season. I see teams being more hesitant than most fans do this season. Fournette will get the Philly draft crowd excited as he is a step up from the mess they had last year. Darren Sproles will be able to keep his role as a change-of-pace, pass catcher and Fournette is the type of runner that will ware down defenses four yards at a time.

#15. Indianapolis Colts - G Forrest Lamp (Western Kentucky)

Hans Pennink - Associated Press

Current Depth (G): Jack Mewhort, Denzelle Good, Joe Haeg

Other Options: S/LB Jabrill Peppers, RBs Leonard Fournette & Dalvin Cook, DEs Taco Charlton & Derek Barnett
Hopefully, new GM Chris Ballard understands that his team must protect Andrew Luck at all costs by drafting an offensive lineman. If they feel like shoring up a respectable defense, they could also reasonably draft any position on that side of the ball but, Andrew Luck is the face of the franchise and they don't need a great defense to bounce back into the postseason.

#16. Baltimore Ravens - WR John Ross (Washington)

Jennifer Buchanan - USA TODAY Sports

Current Depth (WR): Mike Wallace, Breshad Perriman, Chris Moore, Michael Campanaro, Chris Matthews, Vince Mayle, Keenan Reynolds, Kenny Bell

Other Options: WR Corey Davis, RBs Dalvin Cook & Christian McCaffrey, OT Ryan Ramczyk, DE Taco Charlton
Losing Steve Smith Sr. is huge when you consider how absent Mike Wallace was from the end zone the three years prior to him becoming a Raven. Also, Breshad Perriman has speed but not much else whereas John Ross is the slot receiver this team desperately needs. His hands are far from perfect but, he might be the most explosive talent on offense in this draft not named Joe Mixon.

#17. Washington - DE Taco Charlton (Michigan)

Allison Farrand/Michigan Daily

Current Depth (DE): Ziggy Hood, Stacy McGee, Terrell McClain, Anthony Lanier, Matt Ioannidis

Other Options: DT Malik McDowell, ILB Reuben Foster, DE Tim Williams, RBs Christian McCaffrey & Dalvin Cook
Washington needs to shut down Dak Prescott a bit more frequently than they did last season in order to win the NFC East. They are in desperate need of a running back but, you can get a nice player like Alvin Kamara in the second. Until then, load up on defense while the rest of your division gets another year of experience on their up-and-coming offenses.

#18. Tennessee Titans - WR Corey Davis (Western Michigan)

AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

Current Depth (WR): Rishard Matthews, Tajae Sharpe, Harry Douglas, Tre McBride, Jonathan Krause, K.J. Maye, Eric Weems

Other Options: WR John Ross, DE Tim Williams, CBs Kevin King & Tre'Davious White, Trade?
If GM Jon Robinson was serious about acquiring Brandin Cooks before the young wideout was dealt to New England, then this team is twiddling their thumbs in anticipation for a new #1 receiver to choose. This seems to be the pick most likely to be dealt considering two wideouts are already off my board and the Titans need both a corner and receiver and could easily find each via trade. They may trade up or down, either way the Titan phones will be ringing.

#19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - OLB Haason Reddick (Temple)

Mitchell Leff - Getty Images

Current Depth (OLB): Lavonte David, Adarius Glanton, Cameron Lynch, Devante Bond

Other Options: CBs Kevin King, Tre'Davious White & Adoree' Jackson, RBs Christian McCaffrey & Dalvin Cook, OT Cam Robinson, OLB T.J. Watt
The fastest linebacker in this year's class vaulted up draft boards everywhere with his ridiculous combine showing. Outside of Lavonte David, this team has no outside linebacker ready to play every down. Reddick would cure that issue and cover the ground that David used to be 100% able to cover before he started suffering injuries. The Doug Martin issue is weird and may force them to take another running back early but, they seem to be a corner and a linebacker away from fielding a great defense.

#20. Denver Broncos - OT Cam Robinson (Alabama)

Matthew Emmons - USA TODAY Sports

Current Depth (OT): Menelik Watson, Ty Sambrailo, Donald Stephenson, Michael Schofield, Justin Murray

Other Options: TE David Njoku, OT Garett Bolles, DTs Malik McDowell & Chris Wormley
With Paxton Lynch and/or Trevor Siemian set in stone as the future quarterbacks of this team for the next 2+ years, it would be wise for John Elway to help them in the ride to potential stardom with a reliable offensive player in some form. The most sensible player to take would be a tackle to protect the quarterback's blind side and Robinson fits that mold. This is still a defense-first team however, and Sylvester Williams leaves a big enough hole that they might panic and reach for a player at defensive tackle.

#21. Detroit Lions - OLB T.J. Watt (Wisconsin)

Daniel Gallen

Current Depth (OLB): Antwione Williams, Thurston Armbrister, Brandon Chubb

Other Options: S/LB Jabrill Peppers, OLB Haason Reddick, ILBs Zach Cunningham & Reuben Foster
"De-fense. clap clap. De-fense. clap clap" will be the chant heard from wherever the Lions' draft party is taking place. This team needs defense and they need it in multiple forms (Ziggy Ansah and Darius Slay are safe). There has to be a team out there that loves T.J. Watt based on name-value alone and I would bet on Detroit buying all the way in on this pass-rush specialist with a late-first round grade.

#22. Miami Dolphins - CB Kevin King (Washington)

Lindsey Wasson/The Seattle Times

Current Depth (CB): Byron Maxwell, Tony Lippett, Xavien Howard, Bobby McCain, Jordan Lucas, Lafayette Pitts
Other Options: CBs Tre'Davious White & Sidney Jones, OLB T.J. Watt, G Forrest Lamp 
Originally Gareon Conley's place, Kevin King is a far less controversial, risky or allegedly rapey pick. Miami could go a few places here (see: Watt and Lamp) but, I think Kevin King is the safest, logical choice here considering weak coverage was the main culprit behind their elimination last season. Besides, Maxwell and Lippett were already two incredibly risky starters before the Steelers playoff game.

#23. New York Giants - ILB Zach Cunningham (Vanderbilt)

Vanderbilt Athletics

Current Depth (ILB): B.J. Goodson, Curtis Grant

Other Options: ILB Reuben Foster, OLB T.J. Watt, TE David Njoku, RB Dalvin Cook
Having just two middle linebackers on your roster with no idea how either of them look over a 16-game season is not a recipe for success. Hell, that doesn't work anywhere 99% of the time. Expect the Giants to fill the one hole on their otherwise awesome defense with either Reuben Foster (character concerns) or Vanderbilt's sleeper Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Zach Cunningham. There are other needs on offense but, they have an offensive minded head coach.

#24. Oakland Raiders - DT Chris Wormley (Michigan)

Brad Mills - USA TODAY Sports

Current Depth (DT): Justin Ellis, Darius Latham

Other Options: DT Malik McDowell, ILBs Reuben Foster & Zach Cunningham, CBs Kevin King, Tre'Davious White & Adoree' Jackson
Few units were as disappointing as the Raiders' defense last season and losing Stacy McGee only hurts matters up the middle. Chris Wormley might not be the big name that Malik McDowell is but, McDowell has proven to be inconsistent and has some character concerns as well. Wormley is a safe choice with nice pass-rushing ability for a defensive tackle. Any defensive draft choice is a draft choice well spent for the future franchise of Las Vegas.

#25. Houston Texans - QB DeShone Kizer (Notre Dame)

Michael Conroy/AP

Current Depth (QB): Tom Savage, Brandon Weeden

Other Options: QB Patrick Mahomes, OT Garett Bolles, CBs Kevin King & Tre'Davious White, Trade?
This is an obvious fit if Kizer is not already off the board. They were a quarterback away from a possible Super Bowl last year and now they need to replace A.J. Bouye but, not as badly as they still need that quarterback.

#26. Seattle Seahawks - OT Garett Bolles (Utah)

AP

Current Depth (OT): Luke Joeckel, George Fant, Robert Myers

Other Options: OTs Cam Robinson & Taylor Moton, CB Sidney Jones, S Obi Melifonwu, Trade?
Insert the sentiments previously expressed on Houston but, replace "QB" with "any offensive linemen" and "Kizer" with "Bolles". Only Seattle knows how healthy Earl Thomas is right now and if they take his hints at retirement seriously, don't be surprised when they take the explosive Obi Melifonwu.

#27. Kansas City Chiefs - ILB Reuben Foster (Alabama)

Cedric Mason - Touchdown Alabama Magazine

Current Depth (ILB): Derrick Johnson, Ramik Wilson, D.J. Alexander, Khaseem Greene, Justin March-Lillard, Terrance Smith

Other Options: DTs Chris Wormley & Malik McDowell, CBs Sidney Jones & Tre'Davious White
No, Reuben Foster might not fall this far due to his diluted urine sample but, Kansas City is a perfect fit for him with Derrick Johnson on his last legs and Andy Reid as a believer in second chances. Mock drafts are an imperfect science and you may have noticed a few noteworthy prospects still on the board and yet, Reuben Foster is just too talented to slide into the second round unless there's more to worry about beyond his rudeness to medical workers.

#28. Dallas Cowboys - CB Fabian Moreau (UCLA)

Mark J. Rebilas - USA TODAY Sports

Current Depth (CB): Orlando Scandrick, Anthony Brown, Nolan Carroll, Sammy Seamster, Leon McFadden, Jeremiah McKinnon, Duke Thomas

Other Options: CBs Tre'Davious White & Adoree' Jackson, DEs Tim Williams & Derek Barnett
With the deepest cornerback class in years shriveling up on a day-to-day basis, Fabian Moreau is completely believable as a first-round selection now. Dallas really needs help at two specific positions they have struggled to develop at the past five years, defensive end and cornerback. Considering Alshon Jeffrey and Brandon Marshall's new presence in the Cowboys' division, they need somebody to cover those two. Moreau and White seem the most NFL ready at the position even though either defensive end listed above would be a nice addition.

#29. Green Bay Packers - RB Dalvin Cook (Florida State)

Lynne Sladky - AP

Current Depth (RB): Ty Montgomery, Christine Michael, Don Jackson

Other Options: RB Christian McCaffrey, CBs Sidney Jones, Tre'Davious White & Quincy Wilson, Trade?
My "Against The Grain" pick has Green Bay waiting on the deep pool of talent at cornerback and instead, jumping on a workhorse running back because there is no way Ty Montgomery and his sickle-cell trait can make it through all 16 games and there's a reason teams keep cutting Christine Michael. McCaffrey is totally possible here but, Cook seems to have the higher ceiling based on his Elliott-like running style. In all likelihood, they'll just trade out of the first round and think this over a bit longer.

#30. Pittsburgh Steelers - DE Derek Barnett (Tennessee)

USA TODAY Sports

Current Depth (DE): Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, L.T. Walton, Roy Philon, Johnny Maxey

Other Options: DE Tim Williams, TE David Njoku, S Obi Melifonwu, QB Patrick Mahomes
Derek Barnett was once thought of as a top-ten pick but, nobody talks about him that way today for some reason. I see Pittsburgh taking a chance on the former Volunteer because they need to develop a pass rush outside of geezer James Harrison. The Steelers are still one of the more puzzling teams this draft season and might even go with the eventual Ben Roethlisberger replacement here.

#31. Atlanta Falcons - DE Tim Williams (Alabama)

CBSSports.com

Current Depth (DE): Brooks Reed, Derrick Shelby, Adrian Clayborn, Jack Crawford, Martin Ifedi

Other Options: OLB Tyus Bowser, DE Takkarist McKinley, OT Garett Bolles, S Obi Melifonwu
Atlanta has nowhere to go but down from leading an evil empire 28-3 in a Super Bowl. The o-line was a big issue in the Super Bowl but, the defensive line is still not up to par and it should be much easier to find early-round talent on defense at pick #31 than on the offensive line.

#32. New Orleans Saints - TE David Njoku (Miami, FL)

Steve Mitchell - USA TODAY Sports

Current Depth (TE): Coby Fleener, Josh Hill, Michael Hoomanawanui, John Phillips, Garrett Griffin, Jake Stoneburner

Other Options: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, CBs Adoree' Jackson & Tre'Davious White, QBs Patrick Mahomes & Davis Webb, Trade?
Coby Fleener was supposed to replace Jimmy Graham? LOL. This team always reaches for offense even when they should go defense in the first four rounds, every year since 2011. Given the tremendous disappointment that the front office must have felt from Coby Fleener's extensive quest for mediocrity, they might overreact and grab the big-bodied David Njoku instead of continuing to add young defenders or trading the pick for a veteran or a higher pick.

So, enjoy the first night of the draft despite some of the uncomfortable, dark storylines surrounding it. No matter what, hopeless franchises will become hopeful with the reading of a card by a robot man named Roger. It's boring in theory and never boring in execution.