NFL Draft 2018 1st-Round Mock Draft, Odds and Potential Trade Scenarios

Trades remain a staple of the NFL draft, but the 2018 edition could see more than usual thanks to a deep draft class. 

In the past, we've seen one can't-miss prospect encourage a flurry of trade rumors and speculation before the big day. This year, a quarterback class featuring four names who could come off the board in the top 12 means a handful of teams may have an interest in moving up and securing a guy they think could be a quarterback of the future. 

Convincing one of these buyers to back up a dump truck of assets to team facilities is always a good idea for the selling team, as the benefits extend for years down the road. 

Below, let's look at an updated mock, how oddsmakers feel about the quarterback class and a few potential trade scenarios to keep in mind. 

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: Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M

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

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

*Nos. 9 and 10 will be decided by a coin-flip.

Odds for 1st QB Selected 

• Josh Rosen (UCLA) -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
• Sam Darnold (USC) +175 (bet $100 to win $175)
• Josh Allen (Wyoming) +500
• Lamar Jackson (Louisville) +1000
• Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State) +1000
• Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) +2000
• Will Grier (West Virginia) +2000
• Luke Falk (Washington State) +2500
• Nick Fitzgerald (Mississippi State) +5000

via OddsShark's Justin Hartling

Potential Trade Scenarios

Browns Host Fire Sale

It wouldn't come as much of a surprise if the Cleveland Browns pulled off another massive trade. 

After all, this Browns front office is the one that pulled off an NBA-esque move with the Brock Osweiler deal and also sits on two picks in the top five thanks to a separate trade with the Houston Texans. 

As the above scenario in the mock shows, those picks could provide a major boon for years in the form of Penn State running back Saquon Barkley and a quarterback prospect like Baker Mayfield. 

But ponder this—what if the Browns make a big-splash signing in free agency? 

This doesn't have to be Kirk Cousins. It can be AJ McCarron, the Bengals backup quarterback Cleveland attempted to trade for at the deadline in 2017 before the infamous botch. The backup who is now a free agent after winning a grievance and said he wanted to help out Browns head coach Hue Jackson, according to an interview on  WNSP-FM 105.5 (h/t Creg Stephenson of AL.com).

"As a competitor, I wanted that opportunity, just to be able to showcase and help a team win ball games," McCarron said. "I think I would have had some success playing for Hue. I would have loved the opportunity to go up there and get them a win, more than one win. As a competitor, that's all you can ask for."

Granted, landing a quarterback in free agency could mean the Browns grab a pair of top-five prospects at other positions. But with six picks in the first 65 selections, auctioning off the first or fourth pick to the highest bidder could mean not only more picks in this deep class, but additional assets next year, if not a veteran who can help right away. 

And there is one team in particular who might be willing to throw quite a bit at a chance to trade up. 

Bills Make an Offer Teams Can't Refuse 

John Raoux/Associated Press

The Buffalo Bills seem like the most obvious trade candidate ahead of the draft. 

They sit on a pair of first-round picks and packaging the 21st and 22nd picks together to get near the top five for a quarterback would make some sense. 

According to Benjamin Allbright of 104.7 FM Denver, this sort of move could be on the table: 

And why not? The Bills just made the playoffs, even if they admittedly backed into them. They're willing to make deals to improve the team outside the draft, hence the arrival of guys like Kelvin Benjamin. They've also been drafting well for the future, hence the impact from first-round cornerback Tre'Davious White last year. 

Quarterback, though, remains a major problem. Nathan Peterman, a fifth-round pick in 2017, completed 49 percent of his limited regular-season attempts as a rookie, throwing for two touchdowns and five interceptions in the process. 

Veteran Tyrod Taylor is still around, but he's coming off a middling year in which he threw for 2,799 yards and 14 touchdowns against four interceptions, as well as 427 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. Plus, per Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports, Taylor is unlikely to stay in Buffalo much longer even if the Bills are willing to pay him his $6 million roster bonus in March.

Moving up for a high-end prospect who doesn't even need to start right away makes some sense for the Bills. Tom Brady isn't showing signs of aging yet, but the Bills might start thinking about ways to position themselves for a serious run in the AFC East once he hangs up the cleats, which could mean risking it all to move up for a signal-caller they like this year. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com.