2017 NFL Draft: Maxwell, Bednarik Watchlists Released, Preview ‘17 Draft’s Early Rounds

We’ve got just seven weeks until the first week of the 2016 college football season kicks off with a Jared Goff-less Cal taking on Hawaii in Sydney, Australia.

Today, though, in a preview of the early rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft, the watchlists for the Maxwell and Bednarik awards have been released.

The Maxwell is awarded to the nation’s top college football player, though every player on this year’s watchlist is on offense. The Bednarik is awarded to the top defensive player.

Combined, they present a good look at the position landscape as we look toward the 2017 NFL Draft next April.

QB

Tommy Armstrong, Jr., QB, Nebraska

J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State

C.J. Beathard, QB, Iowa

Jake Browning, QB, Washington

Joshua Dobbs, QB, Tennessee

Luke Falk, QB, Washington State

Taysom Hill, QB, BYU

Skyler Howard, QB, West Virginia

Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami

Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss

Gunner Kiel, QB, Cincinnati

DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame

Trevor Knight, QB, Texas A&M

Mitch Leidner, QB, Minnesota

Wes Lunt, QB, Illinois

Patrick Mahomes II, QB, Texas Tech

Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

Nick Mullens, QB, Southern Miss

Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA

Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State

Cooper Rush, QB, Central Michigan

Seth Russell, QB, Baylor

Brett Rypien, QB, Boise State

Thomas Sirk, QB, Duke

Anu Solomon, QB, Arizona

Brent Stockstil, QB, Middle Tennessee State

Justin Thomas, QB, Georgia Tech

P.J. Walker, QB, Temple

Greg Ward, Jr., QB, Houston

Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

Davis Webb, QB, Cal

Malik Zaire, QB, Notre Dame

Watson headlines the group after a spectacular 2015 season that fell just short of a national championship thanks to Alabama.

We’ve also got the new redshirt sophomore crop to keep an eye on led by Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer. He’s one of two Fighting Irish QBs on the list along with Malik Zaire. Zaire beat out Kizer for the starting job a year ago, but an ankle injury ended Z’s season handing the keys to Kizer as a freshman. They’re locked in a starting battle yet again that will define Notre Dame’s early season output as well as potentially having a huge effect on the 2017 NFL Draft (see: Ohio State’s three-way QB battle a year ago and how that played out in the 2016 NFL Draft...)

Rams outlook: With Jared Goff in tow, the Rams are out of the early QB mix. As for a young backup, who knows where this team will be with Case Keenum and Sean Mannion seven months from now.

RB

Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

Mike Boone, RB, Cincinnati

Joel Bouagnon, RB, Northern Illinois

Matt Breida, RB, Georgia Southern

James Butler, RB, Nevada

Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia

Corey Clement, RB, Wisconsin

James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh

Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State

Marcus Cox, RB, Appalachian State

Matt Dayes, RB, N.C. State

Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU

Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon

Wayne Gallman, RB, Clemson

Myles Gaskin, RB, Washington

Brian Hill, RB, Wyoming

Elijah Hood, RB, North Carolina

Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo

Jalen Hurd, RB, Tennessee

Justin Jackson, RB, Northwestern

Ronald Jones II, RB, USC

Aaron Jones, RB, UTEP

Shock Linwood, RB, Baylor

Marlon Mack, RB, South Florida

Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford

Elijah McGuire, RB, Louisiana-Lafayette

Travon McMillian, RB, Virginia Tech

Jeremy McNichols, RB, Boise State

Taquan Mizzell, RB, Virginia

Jacobi Owens, RB, Air Force

Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma

Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State

Demario Richard, RB, Arizona State

Larry Rose III, RB, New Mexico State

Ito Smith, RB, Southern Miss

Jahad Thomas, RB, Temple

Mike Warren, RB, Iowa State

Joseph Yearby, RB, Miami

Marquis Young, RB, Massachusetts

Ah, college running backs. LET THE STATS FLOOD THE BLOCK!

The junior class is stacked with Leonard Fournette, Nick Chubb, Dalvin Cook, Jalen Hurd, Royce Freeman, Wayne Gallman and Samaje Perine.

Rams outlook: Like at QB, the Rams are locked in at the top with Just Todd Gurley. And under Head Coach Jeff Fisher and General Manager, the Rams have drafted enough running backs for three teams let alone one...but let’s be honest. The chances that Fisher falls for one of those junior backs on Day 2 is above 0. Maybe well above 0. This is the same admin that drafted Isaiah Pead in the second round followed by Zac Stacy in the fifth followed by Tre Mason in the third followed by JTG in the first in 2015. You already know.

WR

KD Cannon, WR, Baylor

Jehu Chesson, WR, Michigan

Simmie Cobbs, WR, Indiana

Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan

Isaiah Ford, WR, Virginia Tech

Chris Godwin, WR, Penn State

Deante' Gray, WR, TCU

Richie James, WR, Middle Tennessee

Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M

Gabe Marks, WR, Washington State

Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC

Taywan Taylor, WR, Western Kentucky

KaVontae Turpin, WR, TCU

James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State

Mike Williams, WR, Clemson

The hometown push for JuJu to stay in LA will be unavoidable.

Worth pointing out you’ve got some true sophomores here like Kirk and Ridley who aren’t draft eligible next year.

Rams outlook: Given the state of the Rams’ receivers (which isn’t a new problem, just one that’s been poorly addressed for a decade), the push for any top talent will be unavoidable as it has been since Fisherball came to the Rams.

TE

Jake Butt, TE, Michigan

O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama

Howard surprised by going back to school after starring in the National Championship. I’m surprised Ole Miss’ Evan Engram didn’t make the list though.

Rams outlook: Drafted rookies Tyler Higbee and Temarrick Hemingway offer legit upside, but a top TE could make sense next spring if Goff lands and the offensive line looks improved in 2016.

OL

N/A

This is just mean.

Rams outlook: Who knows. Will Greg Robinson finally make good on his #2 overall draft position? Do Rob Havenstein and Jamon Brown improve on solid if not impressive rookie campaigns? Does Tim Barnes...become a different Tim Barnes? There’s a good chance the Rams are serious players for an early draft prospect on the offensive line. I just have no clue at which position it will be.

DL

Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama

Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee

Josh Carraway, DE, TCU

Bradley Chubb, DE, N.C. State

Kylie Fitts, DE, Utah

Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M

Daeshon Hall, DE, Texas A&M

Darius Hamilton, DT, Rutgers

Charles Harris, DE, Missouri

Marquis Haynes, DE, Ole Miss

Trey Hendrickson, DE, Florida Atlantic

Carl Lawson, DE, Auburn

Tyquan Lewis, DE, Ohio State

Lowell Lotulelei, DT, Utah

Malik McDowell, DL, Michigan State

James McFarland, DE, TCU

Noble Nwachukwu, DE, West Virginia

Larry Ogunjobi, DT, Charlotte

Ejuan Price, DE, Pittsburgh

Jake Replogle, DT, Purdue

Isaac Rochell, DT, Notre Dame

Ja'Von Rolland-Jones, DE, Arkansas State

Tanzel Smart, DT, Tulane

Dawuane Smoot, DE, Illinois

Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford

Eddie Vanderdoes, DT, UCLA

DeMarcus Walker, DE, Florida State

Charles Walker, DT, Oklahoma

Carlos Watkins, DT, Clemson

Deatrich Wise, DE, Arkansas

Chris Wormley, DE, Michigan

Is the 2018 DE or DT class stronger? Right now, they’re looking neck-and-neck as both look really good and that includes potential 2018 NFL Draft #1 overall pick Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett.

One omission to keep an eye on? Tennessee true sophomore DT Khalil Mackenzie, son of former NFL player and current Raiders GM Reggie Mackenzie.

Rams outlook: We know Fisher loves his first-round defensive linemen, but cmon...

LB

Kendell Beckwith, LB, LSU

Vince Biegel, LB, Wisconsin

Ben Boulware, LB, Clemson

Riley Bullough, LB, Michigan State

Jason Cabinda, LB, Penn State

Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt

Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida

Jordan Evans, LB, Oklahoma

Devonte Fields, LB Louisville

Salamo Fiso, LB, Arizona State

Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama

Travin Howard, LB, TCU

Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas

Keith Kelsey, LB, Louisville

Micah Kiser, LB, Virginia

Elijah Lee, LB, Kansas State

Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio State

Matt Milano, LB, Boston College

Calvin Munson, LB, San Diego State

Jalen Reeves-Maybin, LB, Tennessee

Steven Taylor, LB, Houston

Austin Valdez, LB, Bowling Green

Anthony Walker, LB, Northwestern

Tim Williams, LB, Alabama

Taylor Young, LB, Baylor

Linebacking classes are so tough to predict a year out. The senior MLB class looks strong though with Beckwith and Foster. And keep an eye on Texas true sophomore LB Malik Jefferson.

Rams outlook: The Rams have a lot of unanswered questions at LB this season, the first season they’ll be without MLB James Laurinaitis in nearly a decade. Can Alec Ogletree return from injury and hold down the inside spot in any 4-3 looks? How many are the Rams actually looking to implement? Does Mark Barron continue to perform well with Laurinaitis gone? Is 2016 Akeem Ayers going to match first half or second half 2015 Akeem Ayers? This could be a wild card to be in play for an early pick next April.

CB

Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado

Sean Chandler, CB, Temple

Johnathan Ford, DB, Auburn

Adoree' Jackson, CB, USC

Sidney Jones, CB, Washington

Damontae Kazee, CB, San Diego State

Desmond King, CB, Iowa

Jourdan Lewis, CB, Michigan

William Likely, CB, Maryland

Deatrick Nichols, CB, South Florida

Jamar Summers, CB, Connecticut

Cameron Sutton, CB, Tennessee

Jalen Tabor, CB, Florida

Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson

Jordan Thomas, CB, Oklahoma

Tre'Davious White, CB, LSU

It’s shaping up to be a really strong corner class with top prospects of different roles like Jackson, King and White.

Rams outlook: It might be overly simplified to suggest this comes down to E.J. Gaines’ form returning from last year’s preseason Lisfranc injury along with the ability to re-sign Trumaine Johnson. If they form a reliable 1-2 combo this year with Lamarcus Joyner as a third, it’d be tough to justify a top corner. If Gaines looks unable to recapture his 2014 form or Tru follow Janoris Jenkins elsewhere in free agency in a year, this would fit the Fisherball mold.

S

Jamal Adams, S, LSU

Budda Baker, S, Washington

Dante Barnett, S, Kansas State

Quin Blanding, S, Virginia

Chuck Clark, FS, Virginia Tech

Tony Conner, S, Ole Miss

DeVon Edwards, S, Duke

Nate Gerry, S, Nebraska

Nate Holley, S, Kent State

Eddie Jackson, S, Alabama

Derwin James, S, Florida State

Paul Magloire, S, Arizona

Marcus Maye, S, Florida

Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan

Dominick Sanders, S, Georgia

Jordan Sterns, S, Oklahoma State

Armani Watts, S, Texas A&M

Jordan Whitehead, S, Pittsburgh

Next year’s draft is shaping up to be my favorite safety class in years, ESPECIALLY if Jabrill Peppers explodes this year which he well could.

Rams outlook: And if that explosion takes place? I’d have no problem with the Rams tagging Peppers alongside T.J. McDonald at the back of the Rams’ secondary for years to come.