2018 NFL Draft Rumors: Latest Updates Entering Draft Week

The week of the 2018 NFL draft was bound to command attention in large part because the expansion of the rumor mill begins to reach its maximum. 

This is the final stretch, where rumors from various origins attempt to impact the fate of prospects, future courses of teams and more. This draft class is especially ripe for rumors—which is what happens when as many as six quarterbacks could come off the board in the first round. 

Besides the quarterbacks, the class has its expected prospects, with questions lingering around on-field play, potential or even something off the field. It also has the propensity to receive yet another major shakeup via trade. 

While the wait is ending, it's harder than ever to keep up with the mill, so let's look at the most noteworthy items. 

Josh Rosen 

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Talk about UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen falling down the draft board is a notion that has picked up steam lately. 

Which could mean one of two things. One, the media has simply been largely behind the NFL's thinking here. Or two, it's smokescreen season, and some camp, be it a team or otherwise, really wants Rosen to fall down the board. 

Either way, Benjamin Allbright of 104.7 FM Denver has talked with those who see a slide happening: 

It's simply hard to see a scenario in which Rosen drops, though. He's 6'4" and 226 pounds coming off a season in which he completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 3,756 yards with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. 

The production is merely a way to prove he wasn't struggling like someone such as Josh Allen. Rosen has silky-smooth mechanics with plenty of upside, meaning it's important to share a comment by ESPN's Louis Riddick: 

The NFL's perpetual quest for upside in prospects could be fueling the rumors here. That, or a team somewhat comfortable with its quarterback room really, really wants someone to give them a major haul while trading up. 

Rosen's journey is going to be a key one to watch on draft night either way. 

Lamar Jackson

Louisville's Lamar Jackson has also been under the spotlight for the wrong reasons during the draft process, as the general consensus seemed to be that he'd take a dip on draft day. 

This one was easy enough to see through. 

Here's Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com: 

A late "rise" for Jackson was easy to see coming. As mentioned, the NFL has a severe thirst for upside and it doesn't get much better than a guy who can throw the ball accurately and win games because he's so elusive in the open field fans will claim he's the modern Michael Vick. 

To play the production game for a moment, Jackson threw for 3,500-plus yards in each of his two seasons as a starter with at least 27 touchdowns in each. Over the same span, he ran for 1,500-plus yards on the ground and at least 18 touchdowns in each season. 

Jackson is a game-breaking player. He's one of those rare prospects who shouldn't be caught off guard by the sheer speed of the NFL when he's in the open field. And whatever team drafting him knows it will need to tailor its offense to his needs, meaning plenty of RPOs like the Philadelphia Eagles did with Nick Foles, to name one prominent example. 

Like Rosen, Jackson has quite the interesting story to watch on draft day, as the team taking him is willing to do whatever to unlock his potential in the offense—perhaps sooner than later. 

Arden Key and Others

The red-flag prospects are likely many, though we know a few through the rumor mill thanks to a new report. 

LSU pass rusher Arden Key is one of the biggest names to pop up in the report. This one was easy to see coming because he had a stint in rehab due to marijuana use, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero—something he reported to NFL teams. 

But injuries and these off-field hiccups have Key's stock apparently dipping, as a college scouting director told Pelissero: "He's definitely played himself out of the first round. But in a year where there are not many pass rushers available, someone's going to make a pretty decent investment into this guy and cross their fingers and hope he can keep it together."

Key's teammate Derrius Guice pops up on the same set of rumblings. Here's what an offensive coordinator told Pelissero said about him: "Is he talented? Yep. Do you have to have a handle on how to deal with him? Absolutely. He's not a bad person—he's just immature, silly. If he wasn't all that other stuff, he'd be drafted in the top 20 picks. And he still might be in the top 20 picks."

But there's the theme right? Key, 6'6" and 238 pounds, plays a premium position and posted elite production at a critical area in college, making the potential issues something of a moot talking point. And Guice, 5'10" and 212 pounds, looks like an NFL-ready runner who can balance an attack because of his every-down abilities. 

Overlooking potential flags only takes one team, and it's the reason guys like Reuben Foster were still first-round picks. So while noise about potential flags here and there for various reasons won't stop, one team thinking it can manage it all and is willing to assume the risk can shake up the entire draft.