It’s never
too early to start talking about next year’s draft, right? Well regardless of
your opinion, here we are making a round one mock for the 2018 NFL Draft. There
is plenty of change to come as we collect more tape and develop our own
opinions, but all mock drafts are is predicting picks, sharing opinions, and
having fun. These predictions are based off current Las Vegas odds per vegasinsider.com.
Now then, let’s jump right into 2018!
11. Cleveland Browns (300/1): Derwin
James, S, FSU
22. San Francisco 49ers (300/1): Josh
Rosen, QB, UCLA
33. Los Angeles Rams (150/1): Connor
Williams, OT, Texas
44. New York Jets (150/1): Josh Allen,
QB, Wyoming
55. Chicago Bears (125/1): Calvin Ridley,
WR, Alabama
66. Jacksonville Jaguars (90/1):
Christian Wilkins, DL, Clemson
77. Buffalo Bills (90/1): Sam Darnold,
QB, USC
88. Los Angeles Chargers (80/1): Minkah
Fitzpatrick, CB, Alabama
99. New Orleans Saints (70/1): Malik
Jefferson, LB, Texas
110. Detroit Lions (70/1): Saquon Barkley,
RB, PSU
111. Washington (60/1): Tarvarus McFadden,
CB, FSU
112. Miami Dolphins (60/1): Cameron Smith,
LB, USC
113. Cincinnati Bengals: Arden Key, EDGE,
LSU
114. Tennessee Titans (55/1): Armani
Watts, S, TAMU
115. Philadelphia Eagles (50/1): Derrius
Guice, RB, LSU
116. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (40/1): Mike
McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
117. Baltimore Ravens (40/1): Deon Cain,
WR, Clemson
118. Carolina Panthers (35/1): Mitch
Hyatt, OT, Clemson
119. Arizona Cardinals (32/1): Christian
Kirk, WR, TAMU
220. Minnesota Vikings (30/1): Orlando
Brown, OT, Oklahoma
221. Indianapolis Colts (30/1): Harold
Landry, EDGE, Boston College
222. Buffalo Bills (via Kansas City): Courtland
Sutton, WR, SMU
223. New York Giants (22/1): Martinas
Rankin, OT, Mississippi State
224. Pittsburgh Steelers (18/1): Jordan
Whitehead, S, Pittsburgh
225. Denver Broncos (18/1): Quenton
Nelson, OG, Notre Dame
226. Oakland Raiders (15/1): Sam Hubbard,
EDGE, Ohio State
227. Cleveland Browns (via Houston): Bo
Scarbrough, RB, Alabama
228. Atlanta Falcons (13/1): Tyquan Lewis,
EDGE, Ohio state
229. Seattle Seahawks (12/1): Mason Cole,
C, Michigan
330. Green Bay Packers (12/1): Josh Sweat,
EDGE, FSU
331. Dallas Cowboys (11/1): Da’Shawn Hand,
DL, Alabama
332. New England Patriots (18/5): Marcus
Allen, S, Penn State
- What positions
look deep as of now? Let’s start with the quarterback class. UCLA’s Josh Rosen will open the year as my top
overall prospect. Rosen has everything you want in a prospect: touch, footwork,
and arm strength. The biggest concern will be how he returns from a shoulder
injury that caused him to miss most of the 2016 season. Wyoming’s Josh Allen has a cannon for an arm and
good mobility. If you liked Patrick Mahomes in 2017’s draft, you’ll love Allen.
USC’s Sam Darnold is the media’s
darling as of now. I won’t bring up how USC quarterbacks fare in the NFL (rule
of scouting: Scout the player, not the helmet), but his awkward throwing motion
and small sample size (366 pass attempts in 2016) leave me wanting more. Of course,
the upside is there to be the first quarterback taken. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, the reigning Heisman
Trophy winner, is missing from this mock because of his rawness as a passer. However,
the arm talent is certainly there for him to become a Michael Vick type passer.
Add in his explosiveness as a runner and he could also garner round one talk. Then
we have Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph
and Washington State’s Luke Falk. Both
of them have plenty of arm talent and will be interesting case studies for the 2017
season. Overall, this is a very good quarterback class as of now.
- A safety
as the top overall pick? The value for safeties certainly doesn’t garner that
type of draft capital, but Florida State’s Derwin
James has the upside of a top overall pick. After tearing his MCL in 2016,
James was able to apply for a red-shirt and will have three year of eligibility
remaining so while he may opt to return to Tallahassee for another season, his
talent could lock him into round one.
- Back to a
safety being a top overall pick… Should Cleveland once again hold rights to the
number one pick, we could of course see a trade happen. Without a trade,
however, we have to look at Cleveland’s needs. The addressed edge rusher and
quarterback early in the 2017 draft, so the top quarterbacks and edge rushers
appear to be out of play. Running back could be looked at, but no player
possesses that Leonard Fournette upside to justify such a high selection. Offensive
tackle would appear to be the next option, and with Joe Thomas getting another
year older it would make sense to go with Texas tackle Connor Williams. With a best-player-available approach, James is
ranked higher for me at this time. Of course, if Jalen Ramsey and Jamal Adams
weren’t top three selections in 2016 and 2017 respectively despite their talent
as top three players in their draft class, it is extremely doubtful a safety
would be selected number one overall.
- This
running back draft class appears to be just as special as 2017’s class. Headlined
by Penn State’s Saquon Barkley and
LSU’s Derrius Guice, there is plenty
of depth to include Bo Scarbrough and
seniors Royce Freeman and Nick Chubb from Oregon and Georgia
respectively.
- Who are
some of my early draft crushes? The aforementioned Josh Rosen will open the
season as my top prospect and quarterback, but I love his game. Other include: LSU’s
Arden Key, Alabama’s Calvin Ridley, Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk, Clemson’s Deon Cain, Penn State’s Marcus Allen and Saquon Barkley, and Boston College’s Harold Landry.
With draft
season over, I will be taking a slight vacation for the summer. Around July, I will
do my projections for each division similar to last year for the 2017 season as
well as scouting reports for 2018 draft prospects as often as I can. Look for
those reports to come mid-to-late season once I have more accurate and recent
tape to study. Thanks to all for the views! It means a great deal to me. Here’s
to the 2018 draft!
