NFL Draft 2018: Complete Order and Predictions Ahead of Scouting Combine
Next up on the path to the 2018 NFL draft is the scouting combine from Feb. 27 to March 5.
Sometimes better known as the Underwear Olympics, more than 300 prospects will converge and run through a gauntlet of drills, reps and interviews while NFL teams get a better idea of draft boards and strategy before the draft itself.
Generally, the media reacts more to the combine than the NFL does. It's a reaffirmation to more than a year's worth of scouting by organizations, whereas the rest of us are just catching up.
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Which doesn't make it any less fun as an event for a draft industry that has outright exploded in recent years. Part of the reason for that is the mock draft, a resource for the complete order with more info embedded in the selections, so let's glance at one as the journey continues.
2018 NFL Mock Draft
1. Cleveland Browns: Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
2. New York Giants: Sam Darnold, QB, USC
3. Indianapolis Colts: Bradley Chubb, DE, NC 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: Derwin James, S, Florida 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: Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech
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: Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State
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: Joshua Jackson, CB, Iowa
30. Minnesota Vikings: Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado
31. New England Patriots: Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, EDGE, Oklahoma
32. Philadelphia Eagles: Ronald Jones II, RB, USC
*Depicts tiebreakers to be decided by a coin flip.
2. New York Giants: Sam Darnold, QB, USC
It isn't hard to find a mock draft that has USC quarterback Sam Darnold going off the board at No. 1. In the scenario above, though, a team lucky enough to have a pair of picks in the top five has the luxury to take the best player available before again rolling the dice on the most important position of all.
Surely the New York Giants won't complain about such a scenario.
After the odd benching of the 37-year-old Eli Manning last year, as he only threw 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, it's apparent the Giants need a better long-term plan than Geno Smith.
Darnold seems like an obvious choice to pair with Odell Beckham Jr. and Evan Engram, among others. One executive told NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah that Darnold is the best quarterback to pursue this offseason: "I'd say Darnold. He's far from a finished product, but he has a lot of upside and he has solid character. He's a guy that you can be comfortable with building a franchise around."
It also helps Darnold has said he'd love to learn from Manning, per the New York Post's Steve Serby (h/t NFL.com's Chase Goodbread).
On the field, Darnold manages to stand out in what looks like a strong quarterback class. He's got major upside even though he only has a few years as a starter under his belt, which is a point of attraction with NFL coaches more than one would think because of the opportunity to mold him.
New York is the perfect situation for something like this, too, as Manning likely has a few years left, and it gives the Giants time to add more weapons alongside Beckham as the arms race with a division now featuring a Super Bowl winner continues to heat up.
8. Chicago Bears: Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
Wideout is a position sure to see a handful of names explode once they hit the national spotlight of the combine.
SMU's Courtland Sutton, though, might already be way ahead of the game in the mind of the NFL's decision-makers.
Sutton is a big wideout at 6'4" and 218 pounds coming off a season in which he caught 68 passes for 1,085 yards and 12 touchdowns, giving him 31 touchdowns over three seasons. He's not the fastest player by any means, but good testing numbers at the combine will blow his stock through the roof.
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein balanced the scales in the conclusion of his scouting report: "Sutton's ability to win in contested catch situations could get him early playing time as a second or third receiver, but he may not have the explosiveness to ever become a top-flight WR1."
These days? Even a first-round wideout panning out as a guaranteed No. 2 is a big win for teams, as the bust rate for receivers in the first round is huge. So it goes when they have to adapt to pro speed and the physicality of corners, not to mention typically being placed in situations with iffy quarterbacks and offenses as a whole.
For Sutton, though, a logical landing spot is the Chicago Bears with upstart sophomore Mitchell Trubisky. There is already a strong running game in place with Jordan Howard, and No. 1 wideout Cameron Meredith should be back from an injury.
As for the Bears, making sure Trubisky succeeds is priority No. 1. They botched retaining a player similar to Sutton by the name of Alshon Jeffery—and everybody saw what he did in the playoffs on the way to a Super Bowl win.
20. Detroit Lions: Derrius Guice, RB, LSU
The renaissance of the running back position, including a slight move away from the committee approach, is in large part thanks to the arrival of guys like Leonard Fournette.
Now Fournette's former teammate could keep the trend going.
Derrius Guice looks like an every-down back after his days at LSU, where in 2017 he used his 5'11", 212-pound frame to run for 1,251 yards and 11 touchdowns on a 5.3-per-carry average while also catching 18 passes and scoring twice.
In short, Guice made nice on some lofty comparisons thrown out there by Jeremiah before the season: "He's an explosive runner with excellent balance and a tenacious style. He isn't quite as powerful as his former teammate Fournette, but he has a little more wiggle and elusiveness. I see a little bit of LaDainian Tomlinson in his running style, but he really reminds me of a young Frank Gore."
In a large handful of classes, Guice would be the top back. He's unfortunate enough to reside in the same class as Barkley—though the Detroit Lions won't complain.
Those Lions won't hesitate to end Guice's slide, as they could also end the Ameer Abdullah experiment, which had the Lions, despite a passing attack led by Matthew Stafford, rushing for all of 3.4 yards per carry last season.
On paper, Guice comes in and starts right away for the Lions while Abdullah shifts to a more suitable complementary role. Everybody wins in this scenario.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com.
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