2018 Mock Draft 1.0: WAY TOO EARLY 2018 Mock Draft

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!