NFL Draft 2017: A Look at the Best Pick from Each Round
First Round
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech
Selected No. 10 Overall (Kansas City Chiefs)
It is difficult to narrow down one player who was the best selection in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. This draft class produced 12 players who have made at least one Pro Bowl. Despite multiple premier players taken towards the bottom of the first round, the Kansas City Chiefs’ selection of Patrick Mahomes has to be considered the best value in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
When they took Mahomes, Kansas City was coming off of a 12-4 record where they were the second seed in the AFC. Their playoff birth was short-lived as they were defeated by Pittsburgh in a game where the Steelers scored all their points through field goals.
During his rookie season, Mahomes only started one game. He made his NFL debut in Week 17 against the Denver Broncos in a game where they wanted to rest their starting quarterback Alex Smith. He led the team to a victory and went 22 for 35 for 284 yards and an interception.
However, the following season Kansas City moved off of Smith and committed to Mahomes as a starter. He emerged onto the scene as a star, throwing ten touchdowns in his first two games. Mahomes continued producing at a high level throughout the season. He completed 66% of his passes for 5,097 yards and 50 passing touchdowns.
That season Mahomes became the second player in NFL history to throw for 5,000+ passing yards and 50 touchdowns in the same season (Peyton Manning 2013). He became the seventh of only eight players in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in a season. Mahomes also became the third player in NFL history to throw for 50 touchdowns in a single season (Peyton Manning 55 in 2013 and Tom Brady 50 in 2007). This led to Mahomes taking home the MVP that season along with his first of three Pro Bowl appearances and a First-Team All-Pro nod.
Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 12-4 record that season and a first-round bye. He came within a Dee Ford offsides away from bringing the Chiefs to the Super Bowl. But he ultimately fell to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. However the following season Mahomes did help bring the Chiefs to the Super Bowl and defeated the San Francisco 49ers in that game. Mahomes took home Super Bowl MVP honors from that game.
He had another outstanding season in 2020, completing 66.3% of his passes for 4,740 yards and 38 touchdowns in 15 games. Kansas City went 14-1 with Mahomes under center that season (15-1 overall). He once again led them to the Super Bowl, but ultimately fell short against the Buccaneers.
During that offseason, Mahomes was given a 10-year, $503 million extension by the Kansas City Chiefs. Based on what he has done so far in his career Mahomes is worth the money the Chiefs are paying him.
Some of the plays that Mahomes makes look like something out of a video game. Regularly Mahomes is forced to make no-look passes, sidearm heaves downfield, and 50-yard bombs while getting hit by a defensive player. He is an unreal talent that will continue to break NFL records throughout his career which makes him the best pick in the first round of this draft.
It would be a disservice not to mention the elite talents of Myles Garrett and Christian McCaffrey, who are both considered the best if not one of the best players at their respective positions. Along with the lockdown cornerbacks of this draft class in Marshon Lattimore, Marlon Humphrey, and Tre’Davious White. Each of those three cornerbacks are multiple-time Pro Bowlers. White and Humphrey have also been named First-Team All-Pro at least once in their careers.
The two players who are tied for second place on this list are Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt and New Orleans Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk. Many consider T.J. Watt the best defensive player in the NFL not named Aaron Donald. Watt is a multiple-time Defensive Player of the Year candidate who just secured his first DPOY award after breaking the single-season sack record in only 15 games this past season. New Orleans traded back into the first round to grab Ryan Ramczyk with the last selection of the round. This was a great move because since then Ramczyk has emerged as the best right tackle in the NFL and a multiple-time All-Pro.
Honorable Mentions: