NFL Mock Draft 2016: 1st-Round Projections and Riskiest Prospects

The NFL draft always carries an inherent risk.

It’s scary to think about, too. Each team gets one shot in the first round to grab a high-impact player who will act as a major foundation-building piece for years to come.

Or, a team whiffs and tries again next year, suddenly causing an over-reliance on free agents and other means to stay relevant.

This year seems to have more risky prospects than usual, with so many unique stories making the rounds and impacting the stock market. After a look at an updated mock draft, let’s see some of the biggest risks sure to come off the board in the first round.

2016 NFL Mock Draft

Highlighting Riskiest Prospects 4. Dallas Cowboys: Myles Jack, LB, UCLA

Share Tweet Embed

Rarely does a player look like both the best player in a class and the riskiest. 

Such is the case with UCLA’s Myles Jack, though, as folks should be well aware of now given the amount of attention he’s received in the last week and change.

Jack is on the way back from a knee injury and, according to one NFL source who spoke with Les Bowen of the Philadelphia News, is a “ticking time bomb.”

Cute, but the days folks should go wild over what an anonymous person says about a prospect are long gone. There’s a risk with Jack, sure, but he’s also a freak athlete at 6’1″ and 245 pounds who can both drop back into coverage and stunt the run after reading an offense, making him one of the most complete linebackers in years.

He’s the sort of guy a franchise has to gamble on—iffy medical history or not. It’s why the Dallas Cowboys take the dive in this scenario after years of defensive futility, especially from a crop of up-and-down linebackers.

“That would be amazing,” Jack told The Dan Patrick Show, according to NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread. “I would love to play for America’s team.”

Call it the perfect match. If a team is going to gamble on a position of need in the first round, then it has to be on a player like Jack. Is he a risk? Sure. Dallas …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com