CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 06: Mitchell Trubisky #10 of the Chicago Bears calls a play against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first half of the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Soldier Field on January 06, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)Teams around the league have until May 4 to pick up fifth-year options for former first-round picks from the 2017 NFL Draft. As a result, it’s time to look back at that group of prospects and see which front offices struck gold.
Cleveland had the No. 1 overall pick back in 2017. At the time, Myles Garrett was considered a can’t-miss prospect. Despite the whole fiasco that took place against Pittsburgh this past season, the former Texas A&M star is extremely productive.
While the Browns immediately picked up the fifth-year option on Garrett’s rookie deal, the remaining four teams that picked inside the top five decided not to the same thing for their respective first-round pick.
Corey Davis, Leonard Fournette, Solomon Thomas and Mitch Trubisky are all entering the final years of their rookie deal. It obviously hurts them to not have that security of another year on their contract, but now there is added incentive to perform well in 2020.
ESPN insider Field Yates put together a graphic showing which fifth-year options for top five picks from the 2017 class were picked up. It has caught the attention of many fans to say the least.
2017 draft class fifth-year options for top 5 picks:
1. Browns DE Myles Garrett: ✅
2. Bears QB Mitch Trubisky: ❌
3. 49ers DL Solomon Thomas: ❌
4. Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette: ❌
5. Titans WR Corey Davis: ❌It’s hard to find a sure thing in the draft.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 2, 2020
The rest of the first round back in 2017 featured a handful of marquee names, such as Jamal Adams, Marshon Lattimore, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson and T.J. Watt. All of these players mentioned had their fifth-year options picked up.
Other players from the 2017 class have already received extensions, like Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers.
Scouting in the NFL is extremely tough, and the hit-or-miss nature of the 2017 class puts that into perspective.
