2016 NFL Mock Draft: Early Trades Echo Through 7 Rounds
The scouting combine has concluded and as usual, the outlook of the draft has shifted with it. Several prospects saw their stocks rise while others plummeted. This doesn’t decrease the craziness of how things could end up going, as this latest full 2016 NFL mock draft shows, and it starts with a pair of unexpected but enormous trades.
Bears get #17 pick and 1st round pick in 2017
Falcons get WR Alshon Jeffery (tagged)
It hasn’t happened for a long time, but once in awhile a team takes the opportunity to trade a player who has been franchise tagged. While in his prime and still productive, it has seemed like a rift exists between wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and the Chicago Bears, most noticeably following the departure of his friend and mentor Brandon Marshall who was traded to New York.
So the team decides to allow the Atlanta Falcons to sign him to a new contract. This gives them that long-awaited second receiver to pair with Julio Jones, arming Matt Ryan with weapons that can devastate defenses in the NFC. In return, the Bears secure an extra 1st round pick in 2016 and 2017 which they can use to accelerate their rebuild.
49ers get 2nd round pick (#52) and 4th round pick in 2017
Texans get QB Colin Kaepernick
To the surprise of many it would seem Colin Kaepernick is done with the San Francisco 49ers despite the arrival of Chip Kelly and his offensive system that seems to favor mobile quarterbacks. Rather than force him to stay, the team bends to his wishes and deals him to the quarterback-needy Houston Texans who finally get that credible passer they’ve lacked since Bill O’Brien took over.
1. San Francisco 49ers (via TEN)
49ers get #1 pick
Titans get #7 pick, 2nd round pick (#37), 2nd round pick (#52) and 1st round pick in 2017
Indications are he embraces the work and mental side of the game and should have no trouble running a pro offense. His skill set is what Chip Kelly has wanted ever since he came to the NFL with that dual-threat capability. Thanks to the Kaepernick trade they are given enough currency to make it happen. Wentz will be the future in San Francisco. The rest of the draft can be focused on building around him.1Carson Wentz
QB, North Dakota State
Having traded Colin Kaepernick before the draft, the 49ers make it clear changes are coming at quarterback. That validation is felt from the very beginning as they swing a deal to jump over the Browns to grab what is fast becoming the runaway prospect of the class in Carson Wentz. He has it all: size, strength, speed, big hands, velocity on every throw and good ball placement.
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