NFL Draft Projections 2018: Updated Order, Odds and 1st-Round Predictions

With the NFL draft getting underway Thursday, teams around the league will be scrambling to make sure their draft boards are complete, and a handful of teams will be shopping around for potential deals to change their draft positions.

It's also a good time for those who want to make a couple extra dollars to lay some wagers down on some NFL draft prop bets.

And while it may be difficult to predict anything in the NFL—let alone the draft and what teams will do—it's always enjoyable to make guesses.

Below we will cover both the NFL draft odds and first-round predictions. We'll begin with a first-round mock draft.

NFL Mock Draft: Round 1

1. Cleveland Browns: Sam Darnold, QB, USC

2. New York Giants: Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

3. New York Jets (via Indianapolis Colts): Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

4. Buffalo Bills (projected trade w/ Cleveland Browns, via Houston Texans): Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

5. Denver Broncos: Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame

6. Indianapolis Colts (via New York Jets): Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Derwin James, S, Florida State

8. Chicago Bears: Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State

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

10. New England Patriots (projected trade w/ Oakland Raiders): Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA

11. Miami Dolphins: Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia

12. Cleveland Browns (projected trade w/ Buffalo Bills, via Cincinnati Bengals): Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama

13. Washington Redskins: Vita Vea, DT, Washington

14. Green Bay Packers: Harold Landry, EDGE, Boston College

15. Arizona Cardinals: Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

16. Baltimore Ravens: Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama

17. Los Angeles Chargers: Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan

18. Seattle Seahawks: Isaiah Wynn, OG, Georgia

19. Dallas Cowboys: Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State

20. Detroit Lions: Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA

21. Cincinnati Bengals (via Buffalo Bills): Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame

22. Cleveland Browns (projected trade w/ Buffalo Bills, via Kansas City Chiefs): Josh Sweat, DE, Florida State

23. Oakland Raiders (projected trade w/ New England Patriots, via Los Angeles Rams): Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA

24. Carolina Panthers: Will Hernandez, OG, UTEP

25. Tennessee Titans: Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama

26. Atlanta Falcons: Taven Bryan, DT, Florida 

27. New Orleans Saints: Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama

28. Pittsburgh Steelers: Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville

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

30. Minnesota Vikings: Billy Price, OG, Ohio State

31. Oakland Raiders (projected trade w/ New England Patriots): Joshua Jackson, CB, Iowa

32. Philadelphia Eagles: Mike Hughes, CB, UFC

Odds

1st Running Back Drafted

Other than a prop bet of who the first offensive lineman to be drafted would be, this is perhaps the next most obvious.

Here are the odds for the first running back to be drafted:

Saquon Barkley: -3,300 (wager $3,300 to win $100)

Derrius Guice: +1,600

Sony Michel: +2,000

Nick Chubb: +2,800

Ronald Jones: +2,800

Rashaad Penny: +3,300

It's going to be Saquon Barkley. The New York Giants, who hold the No. 2 overall pick, have been linked heavily to Barkley.

Derrius Guice has a shot at being a first-round pick but might slip to the second. Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, Ronald Jones and Rashaad Penny would be surprises to even enter the first-round conversation, let alone be drafted first at their position.

It's going to be Barkley.

1st Wide Receiver Drafted

Unlike the running backs, this one could get a little interesting, though odds-on favorite Calvin Ridley is the first wide receiver taken in the mock draft in this article.

While there are question marks about Ridley as a No. 1 receiver in the NFL, he's poised to be an excellent No. 2 guy at the very least.

The wide receivers projected to come after him are talented, but they won't go before Ridley.

Here are the odds:

Calvin Ridley: -212

D.J. Moore: +300

Courtland Sutton: +400

Christian Kirk: +900

Michael Gallup: +1,200

James Washington: +1,500

Marcell Ateman: +1,800

Anthony Miller: +2,000

The way these odds shake out, it's surprising to not see Equanimeous St. Brown higher on the odds list.

Of the wide receivers in this years draft class, three have the chance to be first-round picks besides Ridley: D.J. Moore, Courtland Sutton and St. Brown.

Ridley is the pick here, though. Lay the $212 and enjoy your $100!

Total Safeties Drafted in Round 1

This is an interesting bet, and the over/under is set at 2.5.

Here are the odds:

Under 2.5: -150

Over 2.5: +110

The two obvious safeties that should be top 15 picks are Minkah Fitzpatrick and Derwin James.

After that, there's a chance we see another safety sneak in at the end of the round, perhaps to the Pittsburgh Steelers or Philadelphia Eagles.

One player who stands out as a potential first-round pick is Jessie Bates from Wake Forest, but he's likely to end up an early second-round selection.

The Eagles need secondary help, and Bates could be the key. However, it could boil down to what cornerbacks are taken before their No. 32 overall selection. If there are still some of the top cornerback prospects on the board, they could go there. But Bates is a dark horse to be a late first-round pick.

Taking the under is probably the safe bet, but if you want to add some intrigue to the draft, taking the over and hoping for a team late in the first round to take a safety isn't a bad idea.

1st-Round Predictions

The Top 5 QB Prospects Will Be Gone by No. 15

With a flurry of teams atop the draft in need of a quarterback, it's easy to see at least three going within the first five picks.

But there are also teams like the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills who have the assets to move up and take their quarterback of the future.

In the mock above, the Bills trade up with the Browns to get their No. 4 pick, and the Patriots do the same with the Raiders at No. 10.

That leaves the Cardinals at No. 15, where they take Lamar Jackson, meaning there will be five quarterbacks taken in the first 15 picks.

This is a rare draft class in that there are a number of teams that need quarterbacks that are drafting toward the top and there are additional teams that, while they may not be inside the top 10, have the assets to get there if they want their guy.

It would be surprising to see any of the top five quarterback prospects slip past No. 15.

Cowboys Pass on WR

With Dez Bryant's release, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion the Dallas Cowboys would draft his replacement with the No. 19 selection.

But they won't, and they shouldn't.

They should get a wide receiver to replace Bryant, but they could use their No. 50 overall selection on a receiver, as there will still be plenty of guys to choose from.

Instead, in the first round, they will take linebacker Leighton Vander Esch to pair alongside Sean Lee and Jaylon Smith to strengthen their defensive unit.

While he has just a year of starting experience and may need to bulk up a bit more, Vander Esch is a lanky and quick linebacker who is excellent in coverage.

There's no need to chase this wide receiver class. Vander Esch is a better talent than any wide receiver in the draft, and Jerry Jones and company will realize that and take the best player available.

Giants Take Barkley at No. 2

This has been a high point of contention throughout the draft community: Will the New York Giants take a running back with the second overall pick in the first round?

Yup.

The Giants are not as bad a team as we saw in 2017, and they are a lot closer to being contenders than one would think.

Other than Barkley, Quenton Nelson and Bradley Chubb would also be excellent selections, but the running back makes sense for their win-now mentality.

Taking a quarterback for the future isn't in the cards—they are going to try to win with Eli Manning.

By having Barkley, the Giants would finally have an elite talent at running back. Pairing him with Jonathan Stewart would allow New York to take some of the workload off Manning.

The offensive line got better with the offseason addition of Nate Solder at left tackle, and perhaps the Giants look to bolster the interior of their offensive line with later selections.

New York also released Brandon Marshall, opening up a spot for Bryant to come in from the Cowboys and join Sterling Shepard, Odell Beckham Jr., Evan Engram and, following the draft, Barkley.

On paper, that is one heck of an offense.

All odds according to Oddschecker.