There are tons of mock drafts that go out every single year. There are people that do a different mock every single week. . .or even more frequently.
Frankly, I say, “to heck with all that.” As I’ve done in the past, I’ve waited until the very last possible second and done one singular mock for the first round of this year’s NFL Draft. Here it is, in all its glory. . .if you can call it that.
I did project a couple of trades for the earlier stages of the first round, but I didn’t want to get to crazy with it. Just a couple of deals that seem to be widely speculated across these vast interwebs of ours. I’m sure I left someone’s favorite out of the first round or have guys going to high or too low, but hey. . .in about eight hours or so, none of it is going to matter because the first round is going to be underway.
With that, here it is. . .The Daily Norseman’s 2018 NFL Mock Draft. Have at it, ladies and gentlemen!
Daily Norseman 2018 NFL Mock Draft
Team, player, position, school | Analysis |
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Team, player, position, school | Analysis |
1) Cleveland Browns - Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma | Speculation over the past 24 hours is pointing to the Heisman Trophy winner being the guy for Cleveland. It's strange that we don't know who #1 will be this close to the draft, but this is my guess. |
2) New York Giants - Bradley Chubb, DE, North Carolina State | A lot of the speculation is pointing to Saquon Barkley here, and he could very well be the pick, but if I were Dave Gettlemen, this is where I'd go. |
3) New York Jets - Sam Darnold, QB, Southern California | The Jets will happily take Darnold after the Browns pass on him. |
4) Cleveland Browns (from Houston Texans) - Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State | The dream scenario for Cleveland, as they get their QB of the future and (arguably) the best player in the draft. |
5) Denver Broncos - Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame | Denver needs help in a lot of places, and they could go quarterback here, but Nelson is a guy they can build the o-line around for the next decade. |
6) Buffalo Bills (from Indianapolis Colts through New York Jets) - Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming | The Bills have been trying to trade up since they first moved up with Cincinnati, and they get it done here. They send #12, #22, and pretty much whatever else the Colts want to move up to this spot. |
7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Derwin James, S, Florida State | The word has been out that the Buccaneers have been in love with James for a while now. They're happy to get him here. |
8) Chicago Bears - Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State | After all the work they've done to their offense this season, this is likely going to be a defensive pick for the Bears. It's just a matter of who. Ward is the best CB in the draft, so the Bears snag him. |
9) Green Bay Packers (from San Francisco 49ers) - Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama | Rumors are flying that the Packers want to move up to get a premiere defensive back, so they send #14, #76 (third round), and a late-round pick to the Niners to move up and get one. |
10) Oakland Raiders - Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia | The Raiders would be thrilled to see Smith fall into their laps here. He would plug into the middle of the Raiders' defense immediately. |
11) Miami Dolphins - Josh Rosen, QB, California-Los Angeles | Here's where things could start to get interesting. This could be a trade destination, or the Dolphins could take Rosen for themselves. I don't think they love Ryan Tannehill and get his replacement. |
12) Indianapolis Colts (from Buffalo Bills through Cincinnati Bengals) - Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech | After getting a second first-round pick, the Colts can start collecting talent. Edmunds has the potential to be a monster for years. |
13) Washington Redskins - Vita Vea, DT, Washington | The Redskins need help stopping the run, and they get the draft's premiere run-stopper at this spot. |
14) San Francisco 49ers (from Green Bay Packers) - Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame | After the trade down, the Niners get someone to help on the offensive line. McGlinchey could play either tackle spot with Joe Staley getting older and Trent Brown coming off of an injury. |
15) Arizona Cardinals - Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville | I think that if someone wants to trade up to get Lamar Jackson. . .hello, New England. . .they have to get ahead of Arizona. If Jackson gets here, I think the Cardinals sprint to the podium to take him. |
16) Baltimore Ravens - Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama | With no quarterback worth this pick, the Ravens need someone for Joe Flacco to miss consistently, so they take the best receiver in this year's class. |
17) Los Angeles Chargers - Da'ron Payne, DT, Alabama | The Chargers have issues stopping the run, too, and they would be quite pleased to see Payne at this spot. |
18) Seattle Seahawks - Marcus Davenport, DE, Texas-San Antonio | The Seahawks are blowing everything up defensively, and Davenport is the sort of guy they can take to start the rebuild. |
19) Dallas Cowboys - Courtland Sutton, WR, Southern Methodist | With Dez Bryant no longer in the Cowboys' employ, you know that Jerry Jones is itching to make a splash to replace him. That's what he tries to do here with Sutton. |
20) Detroit Lions - Harold Landry, DE, Boston College | The Lions would probably love to see Davenport here, but since he's gone, they get the next-best edge rusher to pair with Ziggy Ansah. |
21) Cincinnati Bengals (from Buffalo Bills) - Frank Ragnow, C, Arkansas | Ragnow is a guy that has been flying up the board over the course of the past couple of weeks, and the Bengals are reportedly very impressed with him. |
22) Indianapolis Colts (from Buffalo Bills) - Isaiah Wynn, G, Georgia | More talent for the Colts, who can follow this selection up with a pair of second-round picks to continue their rebuilding process. |
23) New England Patriots - Kolton Miller, OT, California-Los Angeles | If they can't move up for a cornerback, the Patriots will have to start addressing the offensive line. Miller is a project, but he could pay huge dividends for Bill Belicheck and company. |
24) Carolina Panthers - Joshua Jackson, CB, Iowa | Carolina needs to replenish the secondary, and they get themselves a ballhawk at #24. Jackson is going to make some team very happy. |
25) Tennessee Titans - Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State | Speaking of guys that are going to make teams very happy, Vander Esch would be the perfect fit for Tennessee if he drops this far. |
26) Atlanta Falcons - Taven Bryan, DT, Florida | The Falcons need help on the defensive interior, and Bryan could be a force for them right away. |
27) New Orleans Saints - Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State | Some (including Mike Mayock) have speculated that the Saints could look for a wide receiver, but I think tight end is a bigger need. |
28) Pittsburgh Steelers - Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama | Evans is the sort of guy that just sort of screams "He's a Steeler" to me. He would be a very nice addition to the Pittsburgh defense. |
29) Jacksonville Jaguars - Will Hernandez, G, Texas-El Paso | The Jaguars want to maul people in the run game, and as it stands right now there's no player better equipped to do that than Hernandez. |
30) Minnesota Vikings - Billy Price, C, Ohio State | He's officially gotten a clean bill of health from the doctors, so the Vikings can take him and plug him in next to his good friend Pat Elflein. Honestly, I fully expect the Vikings to trade down here, but we'll see how that goes. |
31) New England Patriots - Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida | I thought about putting Mason Rudolph in this spot, but I think the Patriots could get him early in Round 2 if they want him. So, we address the corner spot instead. |
32) Philadelphia Eagles - Derrius Guice, RB, Louisiana State | Yay. |