Everyone remembers where they were when the Chicago Bears traded up one spot. It was the move that defined a decade. Looking back at the draft order nfl 2017, it feels like a fever dream because of how much talent was sitting right there in plain sight, yet so many teams just... blinked.
The Cleveland Browns were on the clock first. They had the worst record in 2016, finishing a miserable 1-15. They actually made the "right" choice by taking Myles Garrett, which is hilarious considering how often they've missed. But once you get past that first pick, the 2017 board becomes a chaotic map of what-ifs and franchise-altering blunders.
Honesty is key here: nobody knew Patrick Mahomes would become a literal god. At the time, scouts were worried about his "Air Raid" mechanics at Texas Tech. They thought he was a project. Meanwhile, the Mitchell Trubisky hype train was moving at 200 mph despite him only starting 13 games in college. It's wild.
The Top Ten: A Study in Chaos
The original draft order nfl 2017 for the top ten picks was a mix of desperate quarterback-needy teams and defensive powerhouses. Cleveland started things off with Garrett. Then things got weird. The San Francisco 49ers held the second pick, but John Lynch—in his first draft as GM—baited the Chicago Bears into a trade. Chicago moved from three to two just to secure Trubisky. San Francisco dropped back one spot, still got the guy they wanted in Solomon Thomas, and pocketed a haul of extra picks.
Behind them, the Jacksonville Jaguars took Leonard Fournette at four. Running backs going that high feels like an ancient relic now, doesn't it? Corey Davis went to the Titans at five, followed by Jamal Adams to the Jets at six. It was a heavy defensive start.
Then came the chargers taking Mike Williams at seven and the Panthers grabbing Christian McCaffrey at eight. McCaffrey is probably the only offensive player in that top eight who actually lived up to the "superstar" billing in a consistent way for his original team.
Cincinnati took John Ross at nine because he broke the 40-yard dash record. Speed kills, but in Ross's case, it mostly just resulted in a frustrating career. Finally, at ten, the Buffalo Bills traded their pick to the Kansas City Chiefs. That move is the "Big Bang" of modern NFL history. If Buffalo stays there and takes Mahomes, or if Andy Reid isn't as aggressive, the entire landscape of the AFC looks different today.
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How the 2017 Draft Order Was Decided
The way we got to that specific draft order nfl 2017 was through a grueling 2016 season. The Browns "earned" that top spot by being historically bad. The 49ers weren't much better at 2-14.
NFL draft tiebreakers are basically a math nerd's playground. If two teams have the same record, the first tiebreaker is "strength of schedule." It’s counter-intuitive, but the team that played the easier schedule gets the higher pick because the logic is they were so bad they couldn't even beat weak opponents. In 2017, we saw several teams finish with identical records, forcing the league to look at division and conference records before finally settling the board.
The Philadelphia Eagles also had a weird path. They traded up the year prior for Carson Wentz, so their original 2017 first-rounder actually belonged to the Browns. But then they traded Sam Bradford to the Vikings (who were desperate after Teddy Bridgewater’s knee injury), which gave Philly the 14th overall pick. It was a giant game of musical chairs.
Quarterbacks and the Great 2017 Evaluation Failure
If you look at the draft order nfl 2017, you'll notice Deshaun Watson slid all the way to 12. Think about that. Ten teams passed on Mahomes. Eleven passed on Watson.
The scouting reports back then were obsessed with Trubisky’s "prototypical" size and accuracy. Mahomes was labeled a "gunslinger" with footwork issues. Watson was seen as a winner, but scouts questioned his arm strength and high interception totals at Clemson.
The Houston Texans were the ones who finally stopped Watson's slide. They traded with Cleveland to move up to 12. Cleveland was basically a clearinghouse for picks that year. They kept moving back, accumulating assets, but failing to actually pick the hall-of-famers staring them in the face.
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The irony is thick. The Bears thought they were being bold. The Chiefs and Texans actually were.
Middle of the First Round Gems
By the time we got to the middle of the first round, the draft order nfl 2017 started producing some elite defensive talent that people often forget about.
- Marshon Lattimore (11th, Saints): He became a cornerstone of a New Orleans defense that finally gave Drew Brees a chance to compete in his twilight years.
- Marlon Humphrey (16th, Ravens): Typical Ravens. They just sit there, wait for a physical corner to fall to them, and then enjoy a decade of Pro Bowl play.
- Jonathan Allen (17th, Redskins/Commanders): He fell because of "shoulder concerns" that turned out to be mostly overblown.
The 2017 Saints draft class is often cited by experts like Daniel Jeremiah as the greatest single-year haul in modern history. They didn't just win the first round; they owned the whole board. Along with Lattimore, they grabbed Ryan Ramczyk at 32. Later, they found Alvin Kamara and Trey Hendrickson. It's the gold standard for how to use your draft slots.
The Draft Order Beyond Round One
The draft order nfl 2017 didn't stop being interesting after Thursday night. In the second round, the Vikings took Dalvin Cook at 41. The Bengals took Joe Mixon at 48. Both were first-round talents who fell because of "character concerns" or injury history.
Cooper Kupp went 69th overall in the third round. Think about that. The Rams found a Super Bowl MVP and Triple Crown receiver in the middle of the third round.
Chris Godwin went 84th. Kenny Golladay went 96th. The depth of the 2017 wide receiver and running back classes was staggering. Even the tight ends were deep—George Kittle didn't go until the fifth round (pick 146). That’s the real lesson of the 2017 order: the elite talent was everywhere, not just at the top.
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Defensive Depth and Hidden Value
Teams that prioritized the trenches in the 2017 order generally came out ahead. T.J. Watt went 30th to the Steelers. Thirty! The Green Bay Packers actually traded out of the first round, passing on the chance to take Watt, who grew up in Wisconsin. Instead, they let their division rival's biggest historical nemesis land a generational pass rusher.
The draft order nfl 2017 proves that the end of the first round is often better than the top ten. You get high-floor players like Tre'Davious White (27th) or Ryan Ramczyk (32nd) without the crushing pressure of a top-three salary and expectations.
Lessons for Future GMs
Looking back at the draft order nfl 2017, we can draw some pretty blunt conclusions. First, don't overthink the "Air Raid" or "system" quarterback. Mahomes proved that talent transcends the scheme. Second, trading up for a quarterback with one year of starting experience is a massive gamble that usually ends in someone getting fired.
Third, and maybe most importantly, the draft is a volume game. The Browns had all the picks in the world in 2017, but because they didn't have the right evaluation process, they still struggled to turn the corner for years. Meanwhile, the Chiefs made one decisive move and changed their franchise trajectory for twenty years.
If you’re analyzing your team’s current draft position, remember 2017. A high pick is a tool, not a guarantee.
Actionable Insights for Following the Draft:
- Track the Trades: The 2017 order was reshaped by three massive trades for QBs (Bears, Chiefs, Texans). When you see a team move up more than five spots, it’s almost always a "swing for the fences" moment.
- Ignore the "System" Bias: Don't dismiss a prospect just because their college offense looks "gimmicky." Mahomes was the poster child for this mistake.
- Value the Fifth-Year Option: The reason the 2017 first round was so pivotal is that fifth-year option. Teams like the Steelers got five years of T.J. Watt on a relatively cheap deal because he was the 30th pick.
- Watch the Second Tier: The best value in the draft order nfl 2017 was actually between picks 10 and 20. That's where Lattimore, Watson, and Humphrey were found.
The 2017 draft wasn't just another year of college kids getting jobs. It was the year the NFL's old guard of scouts got proven wrong by a kid from Lubbock, Texas, and a kid from Clemson. It changed how we look at "pro-ready" forever.
To really understand how your team should handle the draft next year, you have to look at the 2017 tape. Study the trades. Look at who was passed over. Most of all, look at the teams that didn't panic. They're usually the ones holding the trophies.