NFL Draft 2018: Mock Draft for Every Selection in Star-Studded 1st Round
The 2017 NFL regular season wrapped up on Sunday, locking in the order for the first 20 selections in the 2018 NFL draft.
The final 12 slots will be decided based on the outcome of the playoffs, but for the purposes of this mock draft, the teams are ordered based on their playoff seeds.
Now that most of the order is set, and the majority of the prospects have wrapped up their college careers, here's a look at how the first round of April's draft could play out:
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1. Cleveland Browns: Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
2. New York Giants: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
3. Indianapolis Colts: Bradley Chubb, DE, N.C. State
4. Cleveland Browns (from HOU): Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
5. Denver Broncos: Sam Darnold, QB, USC
6. New York Jets: Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Arden Key, DE, LSU
8. Chicago Bears: Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame
9. *San Francisco 49ers: Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State
10. *Oakland Raiders: Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia
11. Miami Dolphins: Vita Vea, DT, Washington
12. Cincinnati Bengals: Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma
13. Washington Redskins: Derwin James, S, Florida State
14. Green Bay Packers: Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado
15. Arizona Cardinals: Connor Williams, OT, Texas
16. Baltimore Ravens: Derrius Guice, RB, LSU
17. Los Angeles Chargers: Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
18. Seattle Seahawks: Billy Price, G/C, Ohio State
19. Dallas Cowboys: Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson
20. Detroit Lions: Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan
21. Buffalo Bills: Tarvarus McFadden, CB, Florida State
22. Atlanta Falcons: Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford
23. Tennessee Titans: Harold Landry, LB, Boston College
24. Carolina Panthers: Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson
25. Buffalo Bills (from KC): Taven Bryan, DT, Florida
26. New Orleans Saints: Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M
27. Jacksonville Jaguars: Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
28. Los Angeles Rams: Sam Hubbard, DE/LB, Ohio State
29. Pittsburgh Steelers: Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas
30. Minnesota Vikings: Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
31. New England Patriots: Austin Bryant, DE, Clemson
32. Philadelphia Eagles: Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama
*49ers and Raiders selection order will be determined by coin flip at NFL combine.
1. Cleveland Browns: Josh Rosen
Despite going 0-16, the Browns have a surprisingly strong group of young building blocks, most of whom were selected in the past two drafts. Myles Garrett, Joe Schobert, Emmanuel Ogbah were core pieces in the league's seventh-ranked rushing defense, and provide the Browns hope for a bright future on that side of the ball.
However, the offense remains a bit of a mess and should be the focus of the Browns' two early draft picks.
It's difficult to guess who Cleveland will target with the No. 1 pick due to the fact that this will be general manager John Dorsey's first draft with the team. Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield are all potential targets.
While the GM in Kansas City, Dorsey traded for Alex Smith to address his quarterback need rather than target one through the draft, so it's tough to guess what type of passer he'll prefer in a young prospect.
Rosen appears to be the early consensus among draft analysts, at least in terms of their own personal rankings. ESPN's Todd McShay is among those who ranks Rosen as the No. 1 overall prospect.
If the Browns do snag Rosen, a quick turnaround could be possible for the franchise in 2018.
Rosen is the most NFL-ready prospect of the elite quarterbacks in this class, and he could have early success if the Browns structure their game plan around the dominant defense and a steady running game.
2. New York Giants: Baker Mayfield
According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, Eli Manning recently said "I don't want to play football anywhere else" and plans to sit down with new GM Dave Gettleman soon to discuss his future.
Even if Gettleman believes Manning has a few productive years left in the tank, it may be difficult to justify passing on a quarterback with the second pick.
The Giants are typically a stable organization and are unlikely to remain at the bottom of the pack for long. The return of Manning and a healthy of Odell Beckham Jr. would likely make the Giants just competitive enough to play their way out of the top 10 of the draft—and therefore removing any future chances of landing an elite quarterback prospect.
It will be hard to move on from Manning, but this is a unique situation for the organization and the smart move from their long-term success would be to target a quarterback like Mayfield.
The Colts made a similar choice to move on from Manning's brother, Peyton, when they landed the No. 1 overall pick in 2012, and the choice to select Andrew Luck has allowed them to have sustained production at the most important position on the field.
17. Los Angeles Chargers: Josh Allen
Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen will be one of the most polarizing figures in this year's draft class.
It's rare to find a quarterback with Allen's blend of size, athleticism and arm strength, which gives him an elite ceiling. However, his inconsistent accuracy and decision-making has limited his ability to put all that talent together into consistent performances on the field.
Allen's future employer can't expect him to come in and start in Week 1 in 2018, which probably limits the number of franchises willing to gamble on him in the first round. The Los Angeles Chargers, however, could be one of teams structured to make such a gamble.
Los Angeles nearly snuck into the playoffs this season and should have their sights set on another successful year in 2018 with Philip Rivers at quarterback. But Rivers is 36 years old and obviously doesn't have a long future with the team.
By drafting Allen now, the Chargers could afford to continue trying to win in Rivers' final seasons, while also grooming his eventual replacement.
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.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
