As the 2016 NFL draft draws closer, it's once again time to run through our draft tier rankings, which uses our grades to separate prospects into different segments. This is helpful when comparing players who are close to each other in the rankings. It also helps with predicting where players will come off the board during the first three rounds of the draft.
Here are our draft tiers for 2016, covering players with first-, second- and third-round grades (which are in parentheses next to each player's name).
Tier 1
This is the elite class of prospects in the 2016 NFL draft. They should be starters from Day 1 and project as perennial Pro Bowl players.
1. Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State (Grade: 96)
2. Laremy Tunsil, OT, Mississippi (95)
3. DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon (95)
Bosa has been in the No. 1 position all season, and I see no reason to change that now. He plays with exceptional technique and effort. And while Bosa may lack elite speed, he's a dominant player on the field. Tunsil, meanwhile, is firmly in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick because of his rare athleticism and upside. Buckner, who has the versatility to fit in a 3-4 or 4-3, has a motor befitting a player who will have a long and successful career.
Tier 2
A notch below the elite class but still worthy of a top-20 pick in most drafts. Expected to be plug-and-play starters
4. Jalen Ramsey, CB, Florida State (94)
5. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State (92)
6. Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame (92)
7. Vernon Hargreaves III, CB, Florida (92)
8. Myles Jack, OLB, UCLA (92)
9. Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State (92)
10. Jared Goff, QB, Cal (92)
The top defensive back in the draft, Ramsey has the skills to play either cornerback or safety at the next level, while Hargreaves is much more of a pure man-to-man cover corner. Elliott is a truly elite talent who was downgraded ever so slightly here because of the declining value of his position. And the quarterbacks -- Wentz and Goff -- aren't on the same level as last year's top QB selection (Jameis Winston), but they don't grade out too far below last year's No. 2 overall pick (Marcus Mariota). While they could benefit from a year of sitting and learning, Wentz and Goff both possess the mental makeup and physical tools to develop into good NFL starters.
Tier 3
These players carry late first-round grades.
11. Jack Conklin, OT, Michigan State (91)
12. Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama (91)
13. Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi (91)
14. Darron Lee, OLB, Ohio State (91)
15. Jarran Reed, DT, Alabama (91)
16. Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville (91)
17. Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson (90)
18. Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor (90)
19. Taylor Decker, OT, Ohio State (90)
20. Leonard Floyd, OLB, Georgia (90)
21. Josh Doctson, WR, TCU (90)
This tier starts to give you a sense for just how deep the defensive tackle class is this year. Reed, Rankins and Billings all have intriguing, if not fully developed, skill sets. Reed is, quite simply, the most dominant run-defender in this class. Rankins is more than capable of developing into an every-down player who plays multiple spots along the D-line. And Billings is an out-of-this-world athlete with the first-step quickness to win early.
Tier 4
Would rather not reach for these prospects late in the first round, but they're good value picks in the first half of Round 2.
22. Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech (89)
23. Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame (89)
24. Jaylon Smith, OLB, Notre Dame (89)
25. Vonn Bell, S, Ohio State (89)
26. Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State (89)
27. Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis (89)
28. Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Mississippi (88)
29. Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor (88)
30. Germain Ifedi, OT, Texas A&M (88)
31. Kamalei Correa, OLB, Boise State (88)
32. Chris Jones, DT, Mississippi State (88)
33. Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas (88)
34. Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson (88)
35. A'Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama (87)
36. Austin Johnson, DT, Penn State (87)
37. Noah Spence, OLB, Eastern Kentucky (87)
38. Karl Joseph, S, West Virginia (87)
39. Ryan Kelly, C, Alabama (86)
40. Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State (86)
41. Kevin Dodd, DE, Clemson (86)
42. Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech (86)
43. Adolphus Washington, DT, Ohio State (86)
44. Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State (86)
Yes, I only have first-round grades on 21 players, but with 31 picks in Round 1 this year, a host of prospects from this tier are sure to come off the board ahead of where their grades suggest they should. Fuller and Apple -- who faced off against each other in the Fiesta Bowl in January -- both have very specific traits that stand out to talent evaluators. Fuller is a true speedster at the wide receiver position after blazing a 4.32 40 at the combine, while Apple has the height (6-foot-1) teams are looking for from their cornerbacks. It's possible a team like Arizona grabs Lynch toward the end of the first round, but because he figures to be a long-term project, his value is that of a second-rounder. Spence has Round 1 talent, but his off-field mishaps -- two drug-related suspensions that forced him to transfer away from Ohio State -- give teams pause.
Tier 5
These players are middle or late second-round prospects.
45. Kenny Clark, DT, UCLA (84)
46. William Jackson III, CB, Houston (84)
47. Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State (84)
48. Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana (84)
49. Keanu Neal, S, Florida (84)
50. Jerell Adams, TE, South Carolina (83)
51. Sterling Shepard, WR, Oklahoma (82)
52. Hassan Ridgeway, DT, Texas (82)
53. Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State (81)
54. Braxton Miller, WR, Ohio State (81)
55. Joshua Garnett, OG, Stanford (80)
56. Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama (80)
57. Jerald Hawkins, OT, LSU (80)
58. Maliek Collins, DT, Nebraska (80)
59. Willie Henry, DT, Michigan (80)
60. Su'a Cravens, S, USC (80)
61. Nick Vannett, TE, Ohio State (80)
62. Will Redmond, CB, Mississippi State (80)
Again, it's a good year to need a defensive tackle; teams will find some great talent at the position deep into Round 2. That also figures to be when WRs who thrive in the slot (Shepard and Miller, in particular) will start getting a look. A team might reach for a player like Spriggs in the first round because of the value of left tackle prospects. Spriggs has exceptional length and athletic ability, but he never really put it all together on tape, which is why he is positioned in this tier.
Tier 6
These players are third-round prospects. They could develop into solid starters, but they either have limited upside or come with a higher element of risk than players worth drafting in the first two rounds.
63. Artie Burns, CB, Miami (FL) (79)
64. Sheldon Day, DT, Notre Dame (79)
65. Pharoh Cooper, WR, South Carolina (79)
66. Jeremy Cash, S, Duke (79)
67. Austin Hooper, TE, Stanford (79)
68. Jordan Jenkins, OLB, Georgia (79)
69. Jihad Ward, DE, Illinois (79)
70. Nick Martin, OC, Notre Dame (79)
71. Carl Nassib, DE, Penn State (78)
72. Leonte Carroo, WR, Rutgers (78)
73. Joshua Perry, ILB, Ohio State (78)
74. Nick Kwiatkoski, ILB, West Virginia (77)
75. Chris Moore, WR, Cincinnati (77)
76. Jacoby Brissett, QB, North Carolina State (77)
77. Antonio Morrison, OLB, Florida (77)
78. Shilique Calhoun, DE, Michigan State (77)
79. Eric Murray, CB, Minnesota (77)
80. Darian Thompson, S, Boise State (77)
81. Tyler Boyd, WR, Pittsburgh (76)
82. Jonathan Bullard, DE, Florida (76)
83. Xavien Howard, CB, Baylor (76)
84. Nile Lawrence-Stample, DT, Florida State (76)
85. Jalen Mills, S, LSU (76)
86. Kenneth Dixon, RB, Louisiana Tech (75)
87. Cyrus Jones, CB, Alabama (75)
88. Deion Jones, OLB, LSU (75)
89. Cody Whitehair, OG, Kansas State (74)
90. Jordan Howard, RB, Indiana (74)
91. Zack Sanchez, CB, Oklahoma (74)
92. Alex Collins, RB, Arkansas (73)
93. Miles Killebrew, S, Southern Utah (73)
94. D.J. Reader, DT, Clemson (73)
95. Charles Tapper, Oklahoma (73)
96. D.J. White, CB, Georgia Tech (73)
97. Bronson Kaufusi, DE, BYU (72)
98. Shon Coleman, OT, Auburn (71)
99. Briean Boddy-Calhoun, CB, Minnesota (70)
100. Deon Bush, S, Miami (FL) (70)
101. B.J. Goodson, ILB, Clemson (70)
102. Paul Perkins, RB, UCLA (70)
103. Joe Schobert, OLB, Wisconsin (70)
104. Chris Westerman, OG, Arizona State (70)
This is a long list, so let's start at the top. Burns' extremely long arms and ability to play press coverage give him a lot of upside as a cornerback. Ward's tape suggests he's a better run-defender than a pass-rusher, but at the Senior Bowl, he flashed a little in one-on-one drills getting after the quarterback. And in a league that can never have too many solid backup QBs, Brissett could be off the board as early as Round 2.