2018 NFL Mock: 10 Days to the Draft

The 2018 NFL Draft is in 10 days. This was our Super Early 2018 Mock Draft; we made a few changes in August. Our mid-season Mock Draft was in October. We also had an end-of-season Mock Draft in January. Henry McKenna wrote Mock Draft 5.0 before free agency. Mock Draft 6.0 was after free agency. Reminder: We can only brag about our 2017 Mock Draft accuracy for another month.

1. Cleveland – Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming. No change.

2. NY Giants – Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State. No change.

3. NY Jets – Sam Darnold, QB, USC. No change. I do believe, if Darnold goes 1st, the Jets will draft Josh Rosen here. Only way the Jets take Baker Mayfield (you know my thoughts) if is Darnold/Rosen go 1-2.

4. Cleveland – Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame. Popular sentiment on social media is the Browns go defense here; why not continue building the offense with the best lineman in this draft?

5. Denver – Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA. The Broncos and John Elway in recent weeks have sent signs that they aren’t taking a QB here. If Rosen is on the board, I don’t see how Elway passes.

6. Indianapolis – Bradley Chubb, LB/DE, NC State. Have liked Chubb since August, when we had him going at 23. He’ll instantly be their best pass-rusher, ahead of Margus Hunt and Jabaal Sheard.

7. Tampa Bay – Derwin James, DB, FSU. Was hurt in 2016 and the Seminoles were awful in 2017, so he’s been a bit off the Top 10 radar.

8. Chicago – Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech. Turns 20 on May 2. Ceiling is that he turns into the next in a long line of great LBs in Chicago – Butkus, Singletary, Urlacher … Edmunds?

9. San Francisco – Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia. Possibly an overreaction to the Reuben Foster issues, but Smith is a plug-and-play pick. SF badly needs to improve the secondary despite the addition of Richard Sherman.

10. Oakland – Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame. I’ve been all over the board on McGlinchey in the last few mock drafts, but the latest is that Gruden wants to upgrade the line to protect Derek Carr.

11. Miami – Baker Mayfield, QB, Okahoma. No change. Not a slide, not disrespectful, but if the Giants don’t draft a QB, and the Broncos pass on him, picks 6-10 all already have young star QBs. If not Miami, Arizona makes a ton of sense. This spot gives him a much better chance at success than with teams in the Top 5.

12. Buffalo – Vita Vea, DT, Washington. In Carolina, the Panthers collected players in the trenches. I expect Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott to do the same and build the Bills inside-out.

13. Washington – Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State. Scuttlebutt is that Ward could go as high at 5th. Redskins have needs at WR, DL (last in run defense) but also finding a replacement for Kendall Fuller.

14. Green Bay – Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa. The Packers need secondary help so badly they added Davon House and Tramon Williams, but lost CB Damarious Randall, who was their 2015 1st round pick.

15. Arizona – Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama. He’d be their 6th DB drafted in the last three years. There’s a playmaking void left by Honey Badger.

16. Baltimore – Da’Ron Payne, DT, Alabama. In a conference with Le'Veon Bell, Leonard Fournette, and Kareem Hunt, the Ravens must restore a once-proud run defense. But they’ll take a long, long look at Lamar Jackson.

17. LA Chargers – Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville. Been saying this for a couple weeks on twitter. If Jackson doesn’t go here, it’s probably the Bengals or Bills. LA’s backup QB is well-traveled – and that’s not a good thing – Geno Smith.

18. Seattle – Will Hernandez, G, UTEP. Too high? Offensive line was the top priority this offseason, with DJ Fluker being added and Seattle adding a new offensive line coach in Mike Solari.

19. Dallas – Harold Landry, Edge, Boston College. I’ll probably switch this back to WR next week, but remember, in recent years the Cowboys haven’t done the obvious.

20 Detroit – Marcus Davenport, Edge, UTSA. No change.

21 Cincinnati – James Daniels, C, Iowa. The Bengals need to get back to the basics, like winning the line of scrimmage. I have Billy Price of Ohio State narrowly ahead of Daniels, but word is the Bengals prefer Daniels.

22 Buffalo – Isaiah Wynn, G, Georgia. With the retirement of Richie Incognito this month, it’s clear there is an offensive line need. And as mentioned earlier, this regime likes the trenches.

23 New England – Kolton Miller, OL, UCLA. Pick they acquire from the Rams goes to the offensive line in a peace offering of sorts from Belichick to disgruntled Brady.

24 Carolina – Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M. No change.

25 Tennessee – Derrius Guice, RB, LSU. So Bishop Sankey was a bust, and DeMarco Murray is gone. They struggled to keep up with the Patriots in the playoffs, and if something happens to Derrick Henry, the offense is really in trouble. Guice keeps the 2-back system in play.

26 Atlanta – Taven Bryan, DE, Florida. No change.

27. New Orleans – Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama. Bit of a curve ball from Sean Payton, who adds another offensive weapon to an already loaded team.

28. Pittsburgh – Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama. No change.

29. Jacksonville – Connor Williams, OT, Texas. This is a futures pick, to fortify the offensive line. There isn’t a legitimate need that absolutely must be met, except receiver.

30. Minnesota – Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville. Probably an overreaction from the last time I saw the Vikings and their secondary getting shredded by Nick Foles.

31. New England – Hayden Hurst, TE, South Carolina. No change.

32. Philadelphia – Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State. There’s a need at corner after the arrest and dismissal of Daryl Worley. But they’ve drafted five DBs in the last two drafts.