2018 NFL Mock Draft: Projections for Top Prospects as Free Agency Continues

Each year, NFL general managers are left with a league-old draft conundrum: Should they pick a player who fills an immediate need, or should they take the best player on their board?

Sometimes, teams are lucky enough that the best player on the board also happens to fill an immediate need. However, not every franchise is so fortunate, leaving NFL front offices with tough decisions.

Below you can find a 2018 NFL mock draft as well as three teams who may choose the former route and fill significant needs on their respective rosters.

2018 NFL Mock Draft 

1. Cleveland Browns: Penn State RB Saquon Barkley

2. New York Giants: USC QB Sam Darnold

3. Indianapolis Colts: North Carolina EDGE Bradley Chubb

4. Cleveland Browns: Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield

5. Buffalo Bills (proposed trade with Denver Broncos): UCLA QB Josh Rosen

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. Denver Broncos (proposed trade with Buffalo Bills): Texas OT Connor Williams

13. Washington Redskins: Washington DT Vita Vea

14. Green Bay Packers: Ohio State CB Denzel Ward

15. Arizona Cardinals: Louisville QB Lamar Jackson

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: SMU WR Courtland Sutton

20. Detroit Lions: UTSA EDGE Marcus Davenport

21. Cincinnati Bengals (trade with Buffalo Bills): Alabama LB Rashaan Evans

22. Denver Broncos (proposed trade with Buffalo Bills): Ohio State OG Billy Price

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: Texas A&M WR Christian Kirk

28. Pittsburgh Steelers: Boise State LB Leighton Vander Esch

29. Jacksonville Jaguars: Notre Dame WR Equanimeous St. Brown

30. Minnesota Vikings: Georgia OG Isaiah Wynn

31. New England Patriots: UCF CB Mike Hughes

32. Philadelphia Eagles: LSU RB Derrius Guice

Notre Dame OT Mike McGlinchey: Seattle Seahawks

According to Football Outsiders, the 2017 Seattle Seahawks offensive line ranked second-last in adjusted line yards and tied for seventh-last in adjusted sack rate. Seattle running backs also finished with the worst yards-per-carry mark in the NFL.

The pass-protection numbers may have been worse if not for the scrambling ability of quarterback Russell Wilson, who is arguably the best in the NFL in terms of avoiding rushes and making something out of nothing.

With the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers significantly beefing up their rosters this year, the Seahawks need to find ways to stay competitive within the NFC West. It starts up front by shoring up a position of need through the draft. 

In the above scenario, Mike McGlinchey of Notre Dame is the best remaining offensive lineman. Lance Zierlein of NFL Media noted that McGlinchey's instincts and technique are "pro-ready." Zierlein also said the offensive lineman could stand to add more strength and shows some "inconsistencies" on tape. But he was also a three-year starter at Notre Dame and a consensus All-American in 2017.

Look for McGlinchey to be an opening-day starter wherever he goes (perhaps at right tackle), and the guess here is that location is Seattle.

Alabama DB Minkah Fitzpatrick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers allowed the most passing yards per game last season (261), which was nine more than the next-closest team. The Bucs were also fourth-last in yards allowed per attempt (7.8), sixth-worst in quarterback rating allowed (94.6) and fourth-worst in completion percentage allowed (67.6).

The Bucs need to shore up their secondary if they want to compete in a tough NFC South that saw three teams make the playoffs in 2017. Each of the Bucs' divisional opponents has elite offensive talent in the passing game, so Tampa Bay must find some reinforcements.

The good news is the demand for and supply of quarterbacks this year is quite high, and it's conceivable that four will go within the first six picks. That could leave Tampa Bay with some of the best non-quarterbacks available when it's time for the No. 7 selection, and Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick is someone the Bucs should strongly consider.

Fitzpatrick is ranked No. 4 overall in Matt Miller of Bleacher Report's latest big board, and he also called the former Alabama star the most NFL-ready safety in this year's draft class.

NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranked Fitzpatrick No. 5 and said he could be a bigger version of Tyrann Mathieu, who was a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro in 2015.

While the Bucs could go another route at No. 7 (perhaps Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelsonif he's available), Fitzpatrick may be too hard to ignore.

Alabama WR Calvin Ridley: Baltimore Ravens

Only one team averaged fewer than six yards per pass attempt last season, and that was the Baltimore Ravens, who clocked in at 5.7. No pass-catcher had more than four touchdowns, no wide receiver caught more than 52 passes and no one on the roster managed to eclipse 750 receiving yards.

The Ravens' second-leading wide receiver last year, Jeremy Maclin, was also released Wednesday, leaving a starting position empty in the depth chart.

Given how the draft may shake out, it's possible the Ravens could grab the top receiver on their draft board at No. 16.

Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley could be that player. Yes, he had a rough appearance at the NFL Scouting Combine, with Three Sigma Athlete reporting that Ridley had the worst SPARQ score of any wideout who participated (h/t Rotoworld).

However, Ridley has still drawn high praise from draft analysts. Zierlein's pro comparison for Ridley is former superstar Indianapolis Colts wideout Marvin Harrison. Mike Mayock of NFL Network listed Ridley as the No. 1 wide receiver in this year's draft. And Todd McShay of ESPN said Ridley "runs terrific routes and creates well after the catch" (h/t Logan Levy of Baltimore Beatdown).

McShay also mocked Ridley to the Ravens, and that seems like an appropriate fit given Baltimore's need. The Ravens may think another wideout has better pro prospects than Ridley, but wideout seems to be the front-runner for Baltimore's first pick.