2018 NFL Mock Draft: 1st-Round Predictions and Overlooked Prospects to Watch

Even with the wealth of information available to today's talent evaluators, the NFL draft is still an educated-guessing game.

Last season's Defensive Rookie of the Year wasn't taken in the top 10 (Marshon Lattimore, 11th overall). The Offensive Rookie of the Year didn't go in the first two rounds (Alvin Kamara, 67th overall).

There are always undervalued players who slip through the cracks. Let's examine three 2018 prospects who are being overlooked, then, and lay out a first-round mock.

2018 NFL Mock Draft

1. Cleveland Browns: Sam Darnold, QB, USC

2. New York Giants: Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming

3. New York Jets: Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA

4. Cleveland Browns (via Houston Texans): Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

5. Denver Broncos: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

6. Indianapolis Colts: Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama

8. Chicago Bears: Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame

9. San Francisco 49ers: Derwin James, S, Florida State

10. Oakland Raiders: Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia

11. Miami Dolphins: Vita Vea, DT, Washington

12. Buffalo Bills: Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech

13. Washington Redskins: Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State

14. Green Bay Packers: Marcus Davenport, DE/OLB, UTSA

15. Arizona Cardinals: Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

16. Baltimore Ravens: Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU

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

18. Seattle Seahawks: Isaiah Wynn, G, Georgia

19. Dallas Cowboys: Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State

20. Detroit Lions: Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Will Hernandez, G, UTEP

22. Buffalo Bills (via Kansas City Chiefs): Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa

23. Los Angeles Rams: Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State

24. Carolina Panthers: Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama

25. Tennessee Titans: Harold Landry, DE/OLB, Boston College

26. Atlanta Falcons: Taven Bryan, DT, Florida

27. New Orleans Saints: Billy Price, C/G, Ohio State

28. Pittsburgh Steelers: Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama

29. Jacksonville Jaguars: Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State

30. Minnesota Vikings: James Daniels, C/G, Iowa

31. New England Patriots: Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA

32. Philadelphia Eagles: Derrius Guice, RB, LSU

Overlooked Prospects

Lamar Jackson, Louisville

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

How can the projected 15th pick be considered overlooked and undervalued? When four players at his position are already off the board, and he has the highest ceiling of them all.

Lamar Jackson is an elite quarterback prospect. Any talks of needing a position change are nonsense. He won the 2016 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback, after all, and passed for 7,203 yards and 57 touchdowns (against 19 interceptions) over his final two seasons at Louisville.

That's almost identical yardage to what Sam Darnold had the last two years (7,229), and he played an extra game than Jackson in that stretch. Jackson threw just two fewer touchdowns in his last 26 games than Josh Rosen did in his 30-game career. Jackson also completed a higher percentage of his passes than Josh Allen in 2017 and 2016.

This is all before getting to Jackson's freakish physical tools, the strongest the position has seen since Michael Vick was throwing and sprinting his way to annual Pro Bowl selections.

"Jackson has the most exciting film for a quarterback prospect since Vick," Bleacher Report's Master Tesfatsion wrote. "He became the first college player to record 3,500 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards in consecutive seasons, proving in one of this decade's most extraordinary college careers that he is more than just a scrambler."

Do those sound like the numbers of a player who should be ranked fifth at his position? Not at all. But Jonathan Jones of Sports Illustrated says that's when Jackson will go, somewhere between the low teens and the last pick of the opening round.

Harold Landry, Boston College

Timing can be as critical for draft prospects as location is for real estate agents. Had Harold Landry headed to the draft one year earlier, he would have been too pricey to come anywhere near the bargain bin.

Back then, he was a punishing pass-rusher coming off a brilliant campaign in which he tallied 22.0 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks.

One year and one nagging ankle injury later, the former potential top-five pick might now fall outside the top 20. He only suited up for the Eagles eight times this past season and had just 8.5 tackles for loss with 5.0 sacks.

The film speaks for itself, though. He's rapid off the ball and relentless in pursuit, and his athleticism compensates for a lack of ideal size.

Per NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, an NFL scout likened Landry to Vic Beasley, 2016's sack leader and an All-Pro first-teamer. Beasley was a top-10 pick. Landry won't cost that much, he'll just play like he did.

Derrius Guice, LSU

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Here's an option for the running back-hungry clubs who can't get a shot at Saquon Barkely—targeting a rusher with more career yards per carry.

Granted, it's not an apples-to-apples comparison—Barkley was a focal point from day one—or even a slight suggestion that anyone belongs ahead of him on the running back big board. It is, however, a way to point out that Derrius Guice might be really good without carrying the premium price that label implies.

During three seasons at LSU, Guice averaged 6.5 yards per carry. That's nearly a yard-per-rush better than Barkley (5.7) and just shy of Bo Jackson's mark at Auburn (6.6). Guice wasn't always a featured runner—before this year, he shared the Tigers backfield with Leonard Fournette—but Guice still had 471 carries over his collegiate career.

He's a violent, downhill runner with home run speed. He had three 250-plus-yard performances showing both his willingness to carry the rock and the burst to make big things happen with it. When he's healthy (he often wasn't in 2017), he offers a drool-worthy blend of speed and power.

Given how angrily Guice already runs, one can only imagine his rushes once he's felt overlooked on draft day.

Statistics used courtesy of Sports-Reference.