Look back at the board from April 27, 2017. It’s wild. Honestly, if you told a Chicago Bears fan that night—while they were collectively losing their minds over a trade-up for a kid from North Carolina—that they’d eventually watch Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson rewrite the record books elsewhere, they probably would’ve walked into Lake Michigan. The 2017 1st round NFL draft wasn't just a selection meeting; it was a sliding-doors moment that fundamentally shifted the power balance of the league for a decade. We saw a legendary quarterback class, a defensive resurgence, and some of the biggest "what if" scenarios in the history of the sport.
People forget how much of a crapshoot it felt like at the time. Myles Garrett was the "safe" pick, sure. But after that? Total mayhem.
The Trade That Still Haunts the Windy City
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Mitchell Trubisky. The Bears traded a king's ransom—picks 3, 67, 111, and a 2018 third-rounder—to move up exactly one spot. One. They leapfrogged the 49ers to grab a guy with 13 college starts. Meanwhile, the guy who actually went tenth overall, Patrick Mahomes, was sitting there with a rocket arm and a Texas Tech jersey that most scouts thought was just a product of a "gimmick" Air Raid system. It’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback now, but the 2017 1st round NFL draft was defined by this specific evaluation error. John Lynch, the 49ers GM, basically fleeced Ryan Pace, and then Lynch didn't even take a QB! He took Solomon Thomas, who... well, he didn't exactly set the world on fire in San Francisco.
It’s just funny how things shake out. You have the Kansas City Chiefs sitting at 27. They see Mahomes sliding. Andy Reid, being the offensive wizard he is, convinces the front office to jump up to 10. They traded with the Bills. Think about that. Buffalo gave the Chiefs the pick that turned into a multi-time Super Bowl MVP and the face of the league. Buffalo ended up with Tre'Davious White, who was an All-Pro corner, so they didn't exactly "lose" the trade in a vacuum, but man, the ripple effects are staggering.
A Defensive Masterclass in the Top Ten
While everyone obsesses over the QBs, the 2017 1st round NFL draft was actually a goldmine for defensive stalwarts. Myles Garrett went number one to Cleveland. He lived up to the hype. Period. He’s a generational freak of nature. But look at the rest of that top flight. Jamal Adams went 6th to the Jets and was arguably the best safety in football for a three-year stretch before things got weird in Seattle.
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Then you have Marshon Lattimore at 11. The Saints absolutely nailed that draft. Like, historically nailed it. Lattimore became a lockdown corner immediately. Jonathan Allen went 17th to Washington and has been the heartbeat of their defensive line ever since. People talk about the 2011 draft as the gold standard for defensive talent, but 2017 gives it a serious run for its money. You had Haason Reddick at 13—who took a minute to find his footing—but eventually turned into one of the most feared edge rushers in the league.
The depth was insane. Even the "misses" like Takkarist McKinley (26th) or Charles Harris (22nd) had the physical traits that made sense at the time. It was an era where teams were desperate for twitchy edge rushers to combat the rising tide of high-volume passing offenses.
The Mid-Round Steals and Special Teams Aces
It wasn't just the superstars. The 2017 1st round NFL draft produced guys who became the "glue" of their respective franchises.
- Marlon Humphrey (16th): The Ravens doing Ravens things. They just sat there and took the best corner on the board. He’s been a cornerstone of that secondary for years.
- T.J. Watt (30th): This is the one that makes 29 teams look stupid. How does a Watt brother, with that motor and those bloodlines, fall to 30? The Steelers didn't overthink it. They just took the best football player available. Watt has since joined the 20-sack club and won Defensive Player of the Year.
- Evan Engram (23rd): At the time, he was seen as a "tweener"—too big for a receiver, too small for a traditional tight end. Now? That’s exactly what every NFL team wants.
The Deshaun Watson Paradox
You can't discuss the 2017 1st round NFL draft without mentioning Deshaun Watson. Before the legal issues and the trade to Cleveland, Watson was the savior of Houston. The Texans traded up to 12 with the Browns to get him. At Clemson, he was a winner. He’d just beaten Bama. He was the most "pro-ready" guy in the eyes of many, yet he was the third QB taken. His rookie year was electric until the ACL tear. It's a complicated legacy now, obviously, but in terms of draft-day impact, that trade-up felt like the moment Houston finally found their franchise guy after a decade of mediocrity.
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It’s sort of wild to realize that the Browns owned that 12th pick. They could have had Watson. They could have had Mahomes. Instead, they traded back, accumulated more picks, and eventually drafted Jabrill Peppers and David Njoku. Njoku turned out to be a solid piece, but the "Process" era in Cleveland was tested heavily by passing on two Hall of Fame caliber QBs in one night.
Why We Still Study This Draft
The 2017 class changed how GMs look at "pro-style" vs. "spread" quarterbacks. Before Mahomes, there was a massive bias against Big 12 QBs who played in "Air Raid" systems. They were labeled as "system players" who couldn't read a defense. The 2017 1st round NFL draft shattered that glass ceiling. Now, every team is looking for the next "off-platform" thrower. They want the guy who can scramble, adjust his arm angle, and throw a 60-yard dime while falling sideways.
Also, look at the running backs. Leonard Fournette went 4th overall to the Jaguars. Christian McCaffrey went 8th to the Panthers. This was the tail end of the "Value the RB" era. Fournette helped the Jags get to an AFC Championship game, but McCaffrey redefined what a back could be in the modern era. He’s essentially a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver rolled into one. The discrepancy in how their careers aged really pushed the league toward the "don't draft RBs in the top ten" philosophy we see today.
The Offensive Line Drought
Interestingly, this wasn't a great year for the big guys up front. Garett Bolles went 20th to Denver, and Ryan Ramczyk went 32nd to the Saints. Ramczyk has been elite when healthy, and Bolles eventually figured it out, but compared to the 2020 or 2021 drafts, the 2017 1st round was thin on tackle talent. It forced teams to get creative with their blocking schemes because they couldn't just draft a blindside protector and forget about it.
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Actionable Insights for Football Fans and Analysts
If you're looking back at this to understand how to evaluate future drafts, there are a few "universal truths" that the 2017 1st round NFL draft cemented:
- Pedigree over Production is a Lie: Trubisky had the "look," but Mahomes had the "it" factor. Always value the guy who has done it against top-tier competition over the guy who looks good in a t-shirt at the Combine.
- Trade-ups for QBs are Binary: They either make you a genius (Chiefs/Texans) or get you fired (Bears). There is no middle ground.
- The "Late First" is Where Value Lives: Getting T.J. Watt at 30 or Ramczyk at 32 is how you build a sustainable roster. Superstars aren't just at the top of the board; they're the guys people are over-analyzing for "limitations."
- Scheme Fit Matters Less Than Talent: Mahomes was told he wasn't a "fit" for a traditional NFL offense. He didn't fit the scheme, so he became the scheme.
The 2017 draft remains a masterclass in risk management. It showed that being "aggressive" is only good if your evaluation is correct. Otherwise, you're just speeding toward a cliff. For the rest of us, it provided some of the best Sunday afternoon entertainment we've ever seen.
To truly understand the current NFL landscape, go back and watch the tape of these guys in college. Look at Watson’s poise in the pocket or McCaffrey’s versatility at Stanford. The signs were all there. The teams that ignored the "noise" and focused on the tape are the ones that have spent the last several years deep in the postseason. The ones that chased "potential" or "prototypes" are usually the ones still picking in the top five every April.