NFL Draft 2018: 1st-Round Order and Predictions for Combine's Early Stars

The NFL Scouting Combine is underway as the best NFL draft prospects take the field in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium for a series of drills and interviews for the league's 32 teams.

Running backs, offensive linemen and special teams participants were up first on Friday, and a few players stood out with impressive performances.

Here's a look at two of those early Combine stars as well as where they may land. You can also find a fresh mock draft below.

2018 NFL Mock Draft 

1. Cleveland Browns: USC QB Sam Darnold

2. New York Giants: UCLA QB Josh Rosen

3. Indianapolis Colts: North Carolina EDGE Bradley Chubb

4. Cleveland Browns: Penn State RB Saquon Barkley

5. Denver Broncos: Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield

6. New York Jets: Wyoming QB Josh Allen

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Alabama DB Minkah Fitzpatrick

8. Chicago Bears: Notre Dame OG Quenton Nelson

9. San Francisco 49ers: Virginia Tech LB Tremaine Edmunds

10. Oakland Raiders: Georgia LB Roquan Smith

11. Miami Dolphins: Florida State S Derwin James

12. Cincinnati Bengals: Texas OT Connor Williams

13. Washington Redskins: Washington DT Vita Vea

14. Green Bay Packers: Iowa CB Josh Jackson

15. Arizona Cardinals: Ohio State CB Denzel Ward

16. Baltimore Ravens: Alabama WR Calvin Ridley

17. Los Angeles Chargers: Alabama DT Da'Ron Payne

18. Seattle Seahawks: Notre Dame OT Mike McGlinchey

19. Dallas Cowboys: Texas A&M WR Christian Kirk

20. Detroit Lions: UTSA EDGE Marcus Davenport

21. Buffalo Bills: Ohio State OG Billy Price

22. Buffalo Bills: UCLA OT Kolton Miller

23. Los Angeles Rams: Boston College EDGE Harold Landry

24. Carolina Panthers: Alabama S Ronnie Harrison

25. Tennessee Titans: Michigan DT Maurice Hurst

26. Atlanta Falcons: Florida DT Taven Bryan

27. New Orleans Saints: SMU WR Courtland Sutton

28. Pittsburgh Steelers: Alabama LB Rashaan Evans

29. Jacksonville Jaguars: South Carolina TE Hayden Hurst

30. Minnesota Vikings: Georgia OG Isaiah Wynn

31. New England Patriots: UCF CB Mike Hughes

32. Philadelphia Eagles: LSU RB Derrius Guice

Predictions for Combine's Early Stars

Penn State RB Saquon Barkley

Penn State running back Saquon Barkley ran a 4.40 40-yard dash, lifted 225 pounds 29 times on the bench press and jumped 41 inches on his vertical attempt. NFL Research put those numbers into perspective:

Bleacher Report NFL1000 scout Marcus Mosher also noted how Barkley compares to other running backs:

Remarkably, Barkley pulled off the 40-yard dash and vertical jump accomplishments at a chiseled 233 pounds, which isn't something you see at the combine every year.

The former Nittany Lion presents an interesting conundrum for teams drafting in the top five.

On one hand, Barkley is considered the best prospect in this draft by many sources, including Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, Mel Kiper of ESPN and Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network.

On the other hand, given the hits they sustain nearly every time they touch the ball (which could be upwards of 30-plus times in a game), running backs simply don't have lengthy careers like other position players too. Furthermore, their production declines at a faster rate.

As Kevin Seifert of ESPN noted in a 2014 ESPN Stats and Information study, running back production on average suffered a sharp drop at age 27 among NFL rushers since 2001 (minimum four years in the league).

Still, Barkley seems like the best running back prospect to come along in quite some time, and he's hard to pass up.

However, the other issue for teams in the top six is that four of them have clear long-term needs at quarterback, while a fifth (the Indianapolis Colts) has an edge-rusher at the top of its wish list after finishing second-to-last in adjusted sack rate, per Football Outsiders.

Given all this information, slotting Barkley at fourth to the Browns seems like the best fit. Cleveland can take its quarterback of the future at No. 1, while the Giants can find Eli Manning's replacement at No. 2. Then the Colts can pick up stud edge-rusher Bradley Chubb at No. 3 to help fill that pass-rushing need.

That leaves Cleveland picking again at No. 4. Although Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick would be hard to pass up, especially considering that the Browns finished 26th out of 32 NFL teams in passing yards allowed per attempt, passing on Barkley twice would be a difficult endeavor.

The pick here is for Barkley to become a Brown and immediately take over the Cleveland backfield.

Notre Dame OG Quenton Nelson

Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson came into the NFL Scouting Combine as one of the most touted 2018 draft prospects, and he left no doubt with 35 reps in the 225-pound bench press. The Denver Broncos noted how that compares to an average offensive guard:

Former NFL general manager and current NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly also gave Nelson high marks in the drill portion:

The NFL.com draft tracker lists two players with 7.4 grades or higher: Barkley and Nelson. They also happen to be the top two players on Miller's big board.

It's not that uncommon to see a running back near the top of a big board (see Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliott as two recent examples), but not so much an offensive guard. However, Nelson is that special, so much so that NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein compared him to Larry Allen. All the first-ballot Hall of Famer did was earn 11 Pro Bowl nods, six First Team All-Pro selections and a Lombardi Trophy.

Nelson is a lock for the top 10, but the question is where he lands. Although Zierlein lists an offensive line position as a need for every team in the top five, it's hard seeing Nelson land with Cleveland, New York, Indianapolis or Denver. As noted before, Cleveland and New York need quarterbacks and the Colts need a pass-rusher.

Denver (and the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings) are all in on the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes, per Adam Schefter of ESPN, but if the Broncos don't land the free agent, then staying put and taking a quarterback seems most likely. The same goes for the Jets if they fall in the same boat (the guess here is that Cousins goes to the team best suited to win now in Minnesota).

That leaves Tampa Bay at No. 7, but in the above scenario, Fitzpatrick is still available, and he's impossible to pass up given that Football Outsiders ranked Tampa's defense last in efficiency (and second-worst against the pass).

At No. 8, the Chicago Bears need a replacement for Josh Sitton, whose option was declined after the 2017 season. Nelson can immediately fill that gap and help protect Mitch Trubisky, who will be entering his first full campaign as the Bears starter.

The 49ers at No. 9 seem like Nelson's draft floor at this point, but he probably won't fall that far.