NFL Mock Draft 2018: Stock Watch and Predictions for Combine's Top Prospects
Shaquem Griffin out of UCF dominates the conversation coming out of the 2018 NFL scouting combine—for good reason.
Griffin was a superstar in college who did it all without a left hand. Once in Indianapolis, he put up 20 reps in the 225-pound bench press and ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash while also looking great in drills, an epic story chronicled best by Bleacher Report's Doug Farrar.
Elsewhere, it was business as usual for the combine, meaning plenty of prospects altered their stock fortunes with performances or interviews, if not a combination. Oklahoma offensive tackle Orlando Brown, for example, tested worse than most presumed, and his struggling even in the face of reduced expectations coming into the event is one of those cases where a combine performance really shoves a player down the board.
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There are plenty of positive examples, though, so let's take a look at those after updating a mock draft.
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: Vita Vea, DT, Washington
13. Washington Redskins: Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
14. Green Bay Packers: Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
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: Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA
19. Dallas Cowboys: Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
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: Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State
25. Tennessee Titans: Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama
26. Atlanta Falcons: Taven Bryan, DT, Florida
27. New Orleans Saints: Will Hernandez, OG, UTEP
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: Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma
8. Chicago Bears: Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
This mock's various editions have remained adamant since January that SMU's Courtland Sutton is the best wideout in the class.
Sutton didn't need long to reaffirm that in Indianapolis.
He showed off incredible quick-burst athleticism, ranking among the best of those tested, which was impressive given his size, as Rotoworld's Josh Norris pointed out:
Before the combine, it seemed easy enough to write off Sutton's three consecutive years of nine or more touchdowns and averages of 16 yards per catch or more. He had the size and reliability, but some were still concerned about the level of competition as opposed to sheer football traits.
NFL teams don't care who Sutton did his damage against, they care about the technique, reliability and incredible athleticism in small areas that make it all work. It's why a team like the Chicago Bears will pull the trigger in the top 10 here.
The Bears might splurge in free agency on a wideout. But the underrated Cameron Meredith is the only real quality option on the depth chart right now, so pairing him with Sutton will give Mitchell Trubisky two reliable targets, leaving the team only needing to address deep speed later in the draft. With Alabama's Calvin Ridley posting ho-hum numbers (as expected), Sutton's place atop the board isn't budging.
14. Green Bay Packers: Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
Every so often, a player hits the combine and turns heads to the point even those across every front office backtrack and rewatch film on a guy.
Leighton Vander Esch is that prospect this year.
The Boise State product didn't get a ton of attention on the way to Indianapolis, but his testing numbers have garnered whispers of comparisons to one Brian Urlacher, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:
That's one way to get attention, right?
Vander Esch came in at 6'4" and 256 pounds with top marks among his positional group in the vertical jump (39.5 inches), three-cone drill (6.88 seconds), 20-yard shuttle (4.15) and 60-yard shuttle (11.57). Those numbers mean he's a strong sideline-to-sideline guy who can change direction and alter plays after the snap.
Of course, the numbers wouldn't mean much if the player on tape didn't display good instincts and recognition, which he does, hence Urlacher's name popping up.
The Green Bay Packers know a thing or two about the Hall of Famer and likely won't want to miss on a prospect like this. While the team has a few different needs, an immediate upgrade in the middle of the defense would be nothing short of a good development.
24. Carolina Panthers: Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State
Mike Gesicki might be the rarest prospect we've seen hit the combine in a long time.
Gesicki was perhaps considered a second-round pick in a deep-looking class for tight ends heading into Indianapolis—he leaves it as one of the best athletes to ever attend the event.
No exaggeration—as captured by The Athletic's Joe Goodberry, nobody comes close to the testing numbers the Penn State product put up:
Have a look at Gesicki's NFL.com profile. He's 6'5" and 247 pounds but ran a 4.54 40-yard dash. He put up a vertical jump of 41.5 inches, a broad jump of 129 inches and ran the three-cone drill in 6.76 seconds. Every single workout number is in the blue, meaning he was among his positional best, if not at the top.
Gesicki had a relatively quiet senior season, posting 563 yards and nine touchdowns. But the traits are more important and so is the upside—few players in the NFL move the way he does.
With Greg Olsen getting up there in age, Gesicki could slot right in with Panthers and learn from one of the NFL's best while giving Cam Newton another great option in the passing game to go alongside a budding attack featuring Devin Funchess and Curtis Samuel.
In the long term, Gesicki will be an interesting case study. But landing with a team like the Panthers certainly increases his odds of becoming a success story, not just a testing-well story.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com.
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