2018 NFL Mock Draft: Ideal Landing Spots for Top College Prospects

One of the most important weeks in the NFL Draft evaluation process is right in front of us. 

The Senior Bowl presents draft hopefuls with the opportunity to work with NFL coaching staffs for a week while scouts, general managers and coaches dissect their every move. 

Not all of the top players in the NFL Draft talent pool will converge on Mobile, Alabama this week, but there's plenty of prospects who will be there that will look to take advantage of the opportunity and boost their stock. 

Of course, the quarterbacks will be front and center over the next six days, as they will for the entire draft process, but there are also players from other positions that we think will be first-round picks that will find their names in the middle of the top-10 discussion this week. 

2018 NFL 1st-Round Mock Draft

1. Cleveland Browns: Sam Darnold, QB, USC

2. New York Giants: Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA 

3. Indianapolis Colts: Connor Williams, OL, Texas 

4. Cleveland Browns: Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

5. Denver Broncos: Quenton Nelson, OL, Notre Dame 

6. New York Jets: Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama

8. Chicago Bears: Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama

9*. San Francisco 49ers: Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State

10*. Oakland Raiders: Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia

11. Miami Dolphins: Denzel Ward, DB, Ohio State

12. Cincinnati Bengals: Marcus Davenport, DE, Texas-San Antonio

13. Washington Redskins: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

14. Green Bay Packers: Josh Jackson, DB, Iowa

15. Arizona Cardinals: Mike McGlinchey, OL, Notre Dame

16. Baltimore Ravens: Isaiah Oliver, DB, Colorado

17. Los Angeles Chargers: DaRon Payne, DL, Alabama

18. Seattle Seahawks: Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech

19. Dallas Cowboys: Maurice Hurst, DL, Michigan

20. Detroit Lions: Vita Vea, DL, Washington

21. Buffalo Bills: Derwin James, DB, Florida State

22. Buffalo Bills: Orlando Brown, OL, Oklahoma

23. Carolina Panthers: Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M

24. Los Angeles Rams: Billy Price, OL, Ohio State

25. Tennessee Titans: Isaiah Wynn, OL, Georgia

26. Atlanta Falcons: Malik Jefferson, DL, Texas

27. New Orleans Saints: Arden Key, DL, LSU 

28. Pittsburgh Steelers: Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama

29. Jacksonville Jaguars: Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU 

30. Minnesota Vikings: Harrison Phillips, DL, Stanford

31. New England Patriots: Mike Hughes, DB, UCF

32. Philadelphia Eagles: Ronnie Harrison, DB, Alabama

*San Francisco and Oakland will partake in a coin flip to decide the No. 9 and No. 10 overall picks. 

Big Week for Allen, Mayfield at Senior Bowl 

Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen and Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield will go under the scouting microscope in Mobile, Alabama, at the Senior Bowl this week. 

Allen, who could end up as high as the No. 1 overall pick due to his size, is looking to impress NFL teams after his mediocre season with Wyoming.

The 6'5" signal caller threw for 1,812 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Cowboys, who went 8-5 and played in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Central Michigan. 

Although he won the Heisman Trophy, Mayfield isn't a lock to go in the top 10 due to his lack of height at 6'1", but he has the stats to back his play up. The Oklahoma product recorded 4,627 passing yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions in his senior season. 

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

With at least five teams in the top 10 potentially going after a quarterback, the next week is massive for Allen and Mayfield to separate themselves from a crowded and talented quarterback class that also includes UCLA's Josh Rosen, USC's Sam Darnold and 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson out of Louisville. 

We have Darnold and Rosen going with the first two picks, with Allen going to the New York Jets at No. 6 and Mayfield falling to the Washington Redskins at No. 13. 

However, the potential order of the standout quarterbacks will change on a weekly basis depending on a wide array of variables, some of which the players can't control. 

But what Allen and Mayfield can control is how much of a show they put on during Senior Bowl week. If they impress that much, they could end up on the path to a higher selection than we currently project. 

Number of Projected 1st-Round Picks Not Participating at Senior Bowl 

Not every top prospect in the nation will be taking part in the Senior Bowl. In fact, a good amount of players are skipping the week in Mobile due to personal preference, injuries or other reasons. 

Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans, Georgia running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, Michigan defensive lineman Maurice Hurst and Ohio State offensive lineman Billy Price are among the players not headed south for the final full week in January, per Jon Ledyard of FanRag Sports. 

Evans, who just won the national championship with Alabama, gave his reasoning for skipping the Senior Bowl to Marq Burnett of SEC Country. 

"The whole reason for that, man, was really just to be focused on the combine," Evans sad. "The fact that I was able to complete a whole four years of just being at 'Bama, man, I felt like that was good enough, and the fact that I'm able to have the opportunity to be in the combine, man, I definitely want to put on a show, for sure."

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The reasoning of the linebacker may be questioned by some, but he's also not struggling to put himself out there for scouts to see. Other players may benefit more from the Senior Bowl process than Evans because they haven't been on national television every week of their college careers and need to jump on to the radar of NFL teams. 

Regardless of what you think of Evans' choice and the decisions made by others to forgo the Senior Bowl, you have to respect it and understand each player is doing what they think is best for them in the draft process. 

Davenport Could be Senior Bowl Breakout Star 

By the time the Senior Bowl ends, Texas-San Antonio defensive lineman Marcus Davenport could be all the rage of each NFL team's scouting department. 

The edge rusher measures at 6'7", 255 pounds and has an impressive stat line from his senior season with the Roadrunners. 

However, Davenport may not have caught the eye of every professional team due to the lack of exposure on a 6-5 Conference USA team. 

Over 11 games in his senior year, Davenport racked up 55 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. 

Davenport is receiving plenty of buzz as more people delve into his tape. Bleacher Report's Connor Rogers believes he's worth the first-round hype and even went as far to compare him to Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman Carlos Dunlap.

We have Davenport slotted in at the No. 12 pick, which belongs to the Bengals, and he could be a unanimous high first-round pick on draft boards after his performance at the Senior Bowl. That combined with the questions surrounding fellow defensive line prospect Arden Key could make Davenport a viable option for teams in search of help on the interior. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com and Sports Reference.