NFL Draft 2018: Post-Pro Bowl Selection Order and 1st-Round Mock Draft

The idea of the NFL draft is for teams to (hopefully) find eventual Pro Bowlers. Or, well, miss the Pro Bowl because they're playing in the game the week after. 

On Sunday, the AFC upended the NFC 24-23 in this year's Pro Bowl. Strong former draft choices like T.Y. Hilton (four catches for 98 yards) and Delanie Walker (four catches for 29 yards and two scores) put on a show in the process. 

Next stop on the NFL calendar is the Super Bowl, with the draft on the horizon following that. For those teams out of the running, the process already centers on the draft and how to find those guys who could earn a paid vacation to the Pro Bowl. 

2018 NFL Mock Draft 

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

2. New York Giants: Sam Darnold, QB, USC

3. Indianapolis Colts: Derwin James, S, Florida State

4. Cleveland Browns (via Houston Texans): Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

5. Denver Broncos: Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA

6. New York Jets: Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State

8. Chicago Bears: Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU

*9. San Francisco 49ers: Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame

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

11. Miami Dolphins: Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama

12. Cincinnati Bengals: Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma

13. Washington Redskins: Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama

14. Green Bay Packers: Arden Key, DE/OLB, LSU

15. Arizona Cardinals: Connor Williams, OT, Texas

16. Baltimore Ravens: Harold Landry, DE/OLB, Boston College

17. Los Angeles Chargers: Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama

18. Seattle Seahawks: Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame

19. Dallas Cowboys: Vita Vea, DT, Washington

20. Detroit Lions: Derrius Guice, RB, LSU

21. Buffalo Bills: Joshua Jackson, CB, Iowa

22. Buffalo Bills (via Kansas City Chiefs): Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming

23. Los Angeles Rams: Billy Price, C/G, Ohio State

24. Carolina Panthers: James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State

25. Tennessee Titans: Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan

26. Atlanta Falcons: Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama

27. New Orleans Saints: Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas

28. Pittsburgh Steelers: Marcus Davenport, DE/OLB, UTSA

29. Jacksonville Jaguars: Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama

30. Minnesota Vikings: Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado

31. Philadelphia Eagles: Ronald Jones II, RB, USC 

32. New England Patriots: Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, EDGE, Oklahoma

*Depicts tiebreakers to be decided by a coin flip. Pick Nos. 31 and 32 will be determined by playoff results.

2. New York Giants: Sam Darnold, QB, USC

Whether they have confidence in Eli Manning or not, the New York Giants can't sit on their hands at the most important position of all this offseason. 

After all, this is the team that turned to Geno Smith last season, remember? At the very least, grabbing a high-upside prospect gives the team options if it wants to bench a double Super Bowl winner again. 

With Saquon Barkley coming off the board first in the above mock, the Giants get their choice of the quarterbacks this year after likely entertaining the idea of a trade and roll with Sam Darnold out of USC. 

Darnold, 6'4" and 220 pounds, produced 4,143 yards and 26 touchdowns against 13 interceptions a year ago. But it's the upside and collegiate experience at a program like USC that has experts such as NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah mocking Darnold as the first prospect off the board: 

While far from the only piece of a rather large impending roster rebuild, few rookie passers would come into a better situation. 

It's a tough market, but Darnold would get to learn from Manning while throwing darts at weapons such as Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard, among others. With a prospect they like in hand, drafts for years to come can focus on rounding out the roster. 

*9. San Francisco 49ers: Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Talk about an unexpected position of luxury for a rebuilding team like the San Francisco 49ers. 

After knocking it out of the park with Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers can now turn around in the top 10 of a draft and take the best player available. 

Nelson, 6'5" and 325 pounds, is a good enough prospect to have his position coming off the board in the top 10. In fact, Jeremiah ranked him the second-best overall prospect in the class and the nastiest while singing his praises. 

"In pass protection, Nelson possesses an immediate anchor vs. power rushers and effortlessly handles twists and stunts," Jeremiah wrote. "Overall, Nelson has all of the tools to be the best run-blocker in the NFL, and he'll be reliable in pass protection. He's the easiest player to evaluate in this draft class."

The 49ers have to do everything they can to make sure Garoppolo isn't a flash in the pan who excelled because the rest of the NFL didn't have enough film on him. This doesn't just mean grabbing weapons who can produce but properly protecting him as well. 

With unorthodox pressure constantly coming up the middle in the NFL these days thanks to players such as Aaron Donald, competent guards are must-have commodities. He falls in large part because other teams haven't had the benefit of actually figuring out a solution at quarterback. 

18. Seattle Seahawks: Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame

Nelson won't have to look far to find some of his former teammates in the NFL. 

The other top-flight Notre Dame prospect this year, tackle Mike McGlinchey, won't fall far on draft day. 

McGlinchey, after all, received a first-round grade from the draft advisory board a year ago but admitted after the end of this season that he wanted to patch up more problems with his game. 

"It’s all about being honest with yourself on film," McGlinchey said, according to Tim Prister of 247Sports.com. "I knew when I met with Coach [Harry] Hiestand and watched the film over and over again that I had a lot of things I needed to improve."

The Seattle Seahawks can't complain too much that McGlinchey waited another year. They've finally started to take the issues up front seriously by trading for Duane Brown during the season, but it's not close to enough with Russell Wilson suffering 43 sacks a year ago while also leading the team in rushing thanks in large part to iffy blocking up front. 

McGlinchey helps out in both areas right away, even if it's from the right side of the line for the time being. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com.