Hindsight is a brutal game in the NFL. You look back at the first round draft picks 2017 nfl teams made, and honestly, it feels like a fever dream. This was the year that fundamentally shifted the power balance of the league for a decade. We aren’t just talking about a few good players; we’re talking about the night the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills changed their entire trajectories while other teams basically threw their future into a woodchipper.
It’s wild to think about now.
Mitchell Trubisky went second overall. Let that sink in for a second. The Chicago Bears traded up—gave away actual assets—to move up one single spot to grab a guy from UNC over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. It’s the kind of move that gets GMs fired and keeps fan bases awake at night. But that’s the 2017 draft in a nutshell. It was a chaotic mix of generational superstars, solid starters, and some of the most head-scratching busts in recent memory.
The Mahomes-Watson-Trubisky Triangle
Everyone talks about it because it’s the most glaring "what if" in sports history. When you look at the first round draft picks 2017 nfl list, the quarterback evaluation was just... objectively weird.
Patrick Mahomes went 10th. The Chiefs saw something nobody else did—or at least, they were the only ones brave enough to act on it. Andy Reid and John Dorsey moved from 27 to 10 to grab the kid from Texas Tech with the "cannon but questionable mechanics." Now? He’s the face of the league. Three rings later, the 10th pick looks like the biggest steal since Brady in the sixth.
Then you had Deshaun Watson at 12. At the time, Watson was coming off a national championship at Clemson where he basically dismantled Alabama. He was the "proven winner." The Houston Texans moved up to get him, and for a few years, it looked like a home run before the off-field legal saga and his eventual trade to Cleveland changed the narrative entirely.
But Trubisky? He had 13 college starts. Thirteen. The Bears' conviction in him over the other two remains one of the great mysteries of the modern era. It wasn't just that he wasn't Mahomes; it's that he never really looked like a top-five talent.
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It Wasn’t Just About the Quarterbacks
If we only focus on the QBs, we miss how stacked this class actually was at other positions. The defensive talent was high-key insane.
- Myles Garrett (No. 1): The Browns actually got this one right. Garrett has been a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He’s a freak of nature. Sometimes the consensus "best player" actually turns out to be the best player.
- Jamal Adams (No. 6): He was a culture-changer for the Jets before things soured.
- Marshon Lattimore (No. 11): He won Defensive Rookie of the Year and anchored a Saints defense that finally gave Drew Brees some help in his twilight years.
- Marlon Humphrey (No. 16): A foundational piece for the Ravens.
- T.J. Watt (No. 30): This is the one that still bugs people. How did T.J. Watt fall to 30? The Steelers just sat there and let a future Hall of Famer fall right into their laps.
The depth was staggering. Christian McCaffrey went 8th to Carolina. Think about that. A guy who can basically play receiver and running back at an All-Pro level. He changed how teams looked at the "scat-back" archetype, proving you could be a workhorse even if you weren't 230 pounds.
The Mid-Round Grinds
The middle of the first round was a bit of a minefield. You had Corey Davis at 5 and Mike Williams at 7. Neither was a "bust" per se—both have had long, productive careers—but when you take a receiver in the top 10, you’re looking for Julio Jones or Justin Jefferson. You’re looking for a game-breaker. Davis never quite became that #1 alpha in Tennessee.
Then there’s John Ross at 9. The Bengals fell in love with a stopwatch. Ross ran a 4.22 at the combine, which broke the record at the time. But speed doesn't always translate to being a refined NFL receiver. He struggled with injuries and drops, eventually becoming a cautionary tale for every scout who values track speed over football IQ.
Why 2017 Changed NFL Front Office Philosophies
Before the first round draft picks 2017 nfl happened, teams were a bit more conservative about moving up for "project" quarterbacks. Mahomes was considered a project. He sat for a year behind Alex Smith.
After 2017, the league shifted.
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Teams started getting aggressive. They saw what the Chiefs did and tried to replicate it. You see it now with how teams treat the draft—they are much more willing to move multiple first-rounders to "get their guy." The 2017 draft proved that being "safe" (like taking a solid defensive end) is often worse than taking a swing on a high-ceiling QB.
If you look at the win-loss records of the teams that hit in 2017 versus those that missed, the gap is massive. The Bills took Tre'Davious White at 27 (after trading back with the Chiefs). They used the extra picks from that Mahomes trade to eventually build the roster that landed Josh Allen. It was a rare "win-win" trade, even if the Chiefs won "more."
The "Bust" Label is Often About Context
Take Solomon Thomas at No. 3. The 49ers took him out of Stanford. He wasn't a bad player, but he wasn't a game-changer. In any other year, he's a fine starter. But in 2017? When you pass on Mahomes, Watson, McCaffrey, and Lattimore to take a rotational defensive lineman, the "bust" label sticks harder.
It’s about opportunity cost.
Haason Reddick is another great example of the 2017 weirdness. He went 13th to the Cardinals. For years, they played him out of position. They tried to make him an inside linebacker. He looked like a bust. Then, he moved back to edge rusher late in his contract, started racking up 10+ sack seasons, and became one of the most feared pass rushers in the league for the Eagles and later the Jets. It shows that sometimes the "draft pick" is fine, but the "development" is broken.
Breaking Down the Impact by the Numbers
Looking back, the success rate of the 2017 first round was actually remarkably high compared to years like 2013 or 2021.
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- Pro Bowlers: Over a third of the first round made at least one Pro Bowl.
- All-Pros: You have at least five guys (Garrett, McCaffrey, Mahomes, Lattimore, Watt) who are arguably among the best to ever play their specific positions in this era.
- Longevity: Most of these guys are still starting in the league in 2026, which is an eternity in NFL years.
But the misses were spectacular. Taco Charlton at 28 to the Cowboys. Malik McDowell (who went early 2nd but was a first-round talent). Reuben Foster at 31. Foster had the talent to be a Hall of Famer, but off-field issues and injuries derailed him before he even got started.
Actionable Insights for Evaluating Future Drafts
If you're a fan or a fantasy football degenerate trying to understand how to scout future classes based on the first round draft picks 2017 nfl lessons, here is what you should look for:
- Traits over Production: Mahomes had the traits; Trubisky had the "look." Always bet on the elite physical ceiling in the first round.
- The "Trade Down" Trap: The Bills traded down and got a great corner (White), but they missed on a god-tier QB. Trading down is great for building a roster, but you don't do it if a franchise QB is on the board.
- Medical Red Flags: Guys like Takkarist McKinley (26th) had talent but persistent health issues that limited their ceiling. The first round is too expensive for "maybe he stays healthy."
- The 5th Year Option Value: 2017 was one of the first years where we really saw the 5th-year option become a massive leverage point. Teams like the Steelers got an extra year of T.J. Watt at a bargain price, which allowed them to keep their Super Bowl window cracked open just a bit longer.
The 2017 draft wasn't just a selection of players. It was a fork in the road for the NFL. We are still living in the world that draft created—a world where the Chiefs are a dynasty, the Bears are still searching for an identity, and we all learned that you never, ever pass on a guy who can throw a football 80 yards out of a stadium just because his footwork is a little "looping."
To truly understand a draft class, you have to wait five years. We've waited nine. The verdict is in: 2017 was the year of the superstar and the year of the catastrophic QB evaluation error. It remains the perfect case study for why the NFL draft is the best reality TV on the planet.
Check the current rosters of your favorite team. Chances are, a 2017 alum is either their best player or the guy who just got cut to save cap space. There is no in-between.