2018 MOCK Draft
Updated mock draft - 4/7/17
1. Browns - Myles Garrett - DE - Texas A&M - the consensus #1 pick for everyone's mock draft. No reason to think he won't be the pick, however his effort and taking plays off would concern me a little bit.
2. 49ers - Jonathan Allen - DT - Alabama - this guy was being seriously considered as the #1 overall pick and then he magically "falls" out of the top ten for most experts mock drafts. I think this is a safe first pick for Shanahan and the 49ers.
3. Bears - Mike Williams - WR - Clemson - guy was absolutely dominant in college, played through injuries in National Championship game (probably a concussion in my opinion) and makes big plays in big moments. The Bears have nothing at WR right now and need to do something to jump start their offense.
4. Jets (trade with Jaguars) - Mitch Trubisky - QB - North Carolina - I think the Jags trick the Jets into moving up a couple spots for fear of losing out on Trubisky. Trubisky is my favorite QB in the draft in terms of long-term potential and the Jets don't have a long-term answer on their roster right now.
5. Titans - Corey Davis - WR - Western Michigan - another guy who dominated every game he played in college, but his size, speed and catching will translate no matter who he's playing against.
6. Jaguars (trade with NYJ) - Leonard Fournette - RB - LSU - I wanted to slot someone else in here so badly, but if the Jaguars stay put I think this is the pick. Wouldn't sur the Jags need something to kickstart their offense and are hoping a guy like Fournette can follow in Zeke's footsteps as a dominant, first-round RB.
7. Chargers - Soloman Thomas - DL - Stanford - another versatile, disruptive defender who can play inside or outside and I think his NFL game is going to compare to Aaron Donald - probably not quite as dominant, but very, very good.
8. Panthers - Marshon Lattimore - CB - Ohio State - the run on DB's begins here. I may be the only person to think this, but I just have a hunch that since the draft is deeper on defense that some surprise picks on offense happen early. Personally I like Gareon Conley from OSU better than Lattimore, but the Panthers go with potential.
9. Bengals - Jamal Adams - S - LSU - in true Bengals fashion, the Bengals take the best player on the board and get a versatile safety who is good in coverage and a better tackler than Ohio State's Malik Hooker. Hooker missed a ton of tackles in college which is why I think Adams is the first safety off the board.
10. Bills - Derek Barnett - DE - Tennessee - the Bills filled a few holes in free agency, but look to add pass rush help here with Barnett.
11. Saints - Deshaun Watson - QB - Clemson - Drew Brees is at the tail of his career and the Saints can take their QB of the future (hopefully) here and still have another 1st round pick at the end of the round.
12. Browns - Reuben Foster - LB - Alabama - he flies all over the field, makes plays in the backfield and knows the game extremely well. He's a safe pick and could step in and start at MLB for almost any NFL team from day one. The Browns have more needs than LB (a QB maybe?) but with no QB worth this pick they take best available and get a good one.
13. Cardinals - John Ross - WR - Washington - Ross is a different receiver than Larry Fitzgerald but he can learn from him this year and step in for him in 2018.
14. Eagles - Malik Hooker - S - Ohio State - people will be surprised to see Hooker "fall" here, but he's not a perfect prospect. He's raw and struggles tackling so he falls out of the top 10 and lands in Philly.
15. Colts - Dalvin Cook - RB - Florida State - Frank Gore is 50 years old and the Colts need a running game to take pressure of Luck throwing it 100 times per game. Cook is a really good runner and will be a good fit in Indy.
16. Ravens - Gareon Conley - CB - Ohio State - in this scenario, Ozzie Newsome isn't going to be a happy camper as he probably would love a WR. With no WR on the board worthy of this pick, he goes best available and takes Conley.
17. Redskins - Takkarist McKinley - DE/LB - UCLA - McKinley has potential and gives the Redskins much needed pash rush.
18. Titans - O.J. Howard - TE - Alabama - I'd be surprised if Howard falls this far, but if he does the Titans would be smart to sprint this draft card up to the podium. I think Howard could go as early as 9 or 10 but falls to 18 in this mock.
19. Buccaneers - David Njoku - TE - Miami - back-to-back TE in the middle of round one as the Bucs stay in state and take the potential of Njoku to help out Winston and the offense.
20. Broncos - Forrest Lamp - G - W. Kentucky - Broncos go OL here in round one as that's been a need for them even when they had Peyton behind center.
21. Lions - Haason Reddick - DE/LB - Temple - the Lions need playmakers on defense (quick...name someone on the Lions defense) and hope Reddick can be that guy.
22. Dolphins - Tre'davious White - CB - LSU - the Dolphins could go any number of ways here (including trading back as this is QB territory for Kizer or Mahomes) but go CB and hope White can turn into a CB1.
23. Giants - Garett Bolles - T - Utah - it seems like the Giants always go DL or OL in the first round and they go offense this year and try to keep Eli upright with the addition of Bolles.
24. Raiders - Christian McCaffery - RB - Stanford - Beast Mode and McCaffrey? Yup, that's quite the 1-2 punch for the Raiders and will make the offense far more potent in 2017!
25. Texans - DeShon Kizer - QB - Notre Dame - I am not a Kizer fan personally but this isn't about me. I wouldn't be one bit surprised to see him fall to the 3rd round, but all it takes is one team to think they can fix him and the Texans are that team this year. Good luck!
26. Seahawks - Ryan Ramczyk - T - Wisconsin - the Seahawks don't have many holes, but their OL was atrocious last season. Ranczyk can play T or possibly G for them and will be an upgrade.
27. Chiefs - Zay Jones - WR - E. Carolina - surprise! So many people think the Chiefs are going QB here, but I don't. They were a solid playoff team last year and a few additions might get them even further. They need a bigger received and Jones could potentially be that guy for Alex Smith.
28 - Cowboys - Jabril Peppers - LB/S - Michigan - I can hear Cowboys fans cheering with jubilation already. Whether or not he ends up being a star in the NFL, he's a flashy pick that fans will love.
29. Packers - T.J. Watt - LB - Wisconsin - talk about making a splash! The Packers taking a guy from Wisconsin...look out! I think Watt is going to be a really, really good NFL player and the Packers are hoping so too.
30. Steelers - Patrick Mahomes - QB - Texas Tech - I wouldn't be surprised to see the Steelers make this pick for the future or to see someone try to move up to this spot to get Mahomes at the end of the first round. (Bills? Bears?)
31. Falcons - Taco Charlton - DE - Michigan - when you make it to the Super Bowl you typically don't have many holes so you can draft the best available player. The Falcons try to do that here with the selection of Taco.
32. Saints - Joe Mixon - RB - Oklahoma - gulp. Not only will they get media scrutiny in general for taking Mixon, they'll get it for almost 24 hours straight since he's the last pick of the first round. Eventually it'll go away (until/unless he does something stupid again) but the Saints hope the good play outweighs the bad short-term publicity.
***Bonus Pick***
33. Browns - Marlon Humphrey - CB - Alabama - if the Browns end up with Garrett, Foster and Humphrey with their first three picks they will begin 2017 light years ahead of 2016 in terms of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
1. Browns - Myles Garrett - DE - Texas A&M - the consensus #1 pick for everyone's mock draft. No reason to think he won't be the pick, however his effort and taking plays off would concern me a little bit.
2. 49ers - Jonathan Allen - DT - Alabama - this guy was being seriously considered as the #1 overall pick and then he magically "falls" out of the top ten for most experts mock drafts. I think this is a safe first pick for Shanahan and the 49ers.
3. Bears - Mike Williams - WR - Clemson - guy was absolutely dominant in college, played through injuries in National Championship game (probably a concussion in my opinion) and makes big plays in big moments. The Bears have nothing at WR right now and need to do something to jump start their offense.
4. Jets (trade with Jaguars) - Mitch Trubisky - QB - North Carolina - I think the Jags trick the Jets into moving up a couple spots for fear of losing out on Trubisky. Trubisky is my favorite QB in the draft in terms of long-term potential and the Jets don't have a long-term answer on their roster right now.
5. Titans - Corey Davis - WR - Western Michigan - another guy who dominated every game he played in college, but his size, speed and catching will translate no matter who he's playing against.
6. Jaguars (trade with NYJ) - Leonard Fournette - RB - LSU - I wanted to slot someone else in here so badly, but if the Jaguars stay put I think this is the pick. Wouldn't sur the Jags need something to kickstart their offense and are hoping a guy like Fournette can follow in Zeke's footsteps as a dominant, first-round RB.
7. Chargers - Soloman Thomas - DL - Stanford - another versatile, disruptive defender who can play inside or outside and I think his NFL game is going to compare to Aaron Donald - probably not quite as dominant, but very, very good.
8. Panthers - Marshon Lattimore - CB - Ohio State - the run on DB's begins here. I may be the only person to think this, but I just have a hunch that since the draft is deeper on defense that some surprise picks on offense happen early. Personally I like Gareon Conley from OSU better than Lattimore, but the Panthers go with potential.
9. Bengals - Jamal Adams - S - LSU - in true Bengals fashion, the Bengals take the best player on the board and get a versatile safety who is good in coverage and a better tackler than Ohio State's Malik Hooker. Hooker missed a ton of tackles in college which is why I think Adams is the first safety off the board.
10. Bills - Derek Barnett - DE - Tennessee - the Bills filled a few holes in free agency, but look to add pass rush help here with Barnett.
11. Saints - Deshaun Watson - QB - Clemson - Drew Brees is at the tail of his career and the Saints can take their QB of the future (hopefully) here and still have another 1st round pick at the end of the round.
12. Browns - Reuben Foster - LB - Alabama - he flies all over the field, makes plays in the backfield and knows the game extremely well. He's a safe pick and could step in and start at MLB for almost any NFL team from day one. The Browns have more needs than LB (a QB maybe?) but with no QB worth this pick they take best available and get a good one.
13. Cardinals - John Ross - WR - Washington - Ross is a different receiver than Larry Fitzgerald but he can learn from him this year and step in for him in 2018.
14. Eagles - Malik Hooker - S - Ohio State - people will be surprised to see Hooker "fall" here, but he's not a perfect prospect. He's raw and struggles tackling so he falls out of the top 10 and lands in Philly.
15. Colts - Dalvin Cook - RB - Florida State - Frank Gore is 50 years old and the Colts need a running game to take pressure of Luck throwing it 100 times per game. Cook is a really good runner and will be a good fit in Indy.
16. Ravens - Gareon Conley - CB - Ohio State - in this scenario, Ozzie Newsome isn't going to be a happy camper as he probably would love a WR. With no WR on the board worthy of this pick, he goes best available and takes Conley.
17. Redskins - Takkarist McKinley - DE/LB - UCLA - McKinley has potential and gives the Redskins much needed pash rush.
18. Titans - O.J. Howard - TE - Alabama - I'd be surprised if Howard falls this far, but if he does the Titans would be smart to sprint this draft card up to the podium. I think Howard could go as early as 9 or 10 but falls to 18 in this mock.
19. Buccaneers - David Njoku - TE - Miami - back-to-back TE in the middle of round one as the Bucs stay in state and take the potential of Njoku to help out Winston and the offense.
20. Broncos - Forrest Lamp - G - W. Kentucky - Broncos go OL here in round one as that's been a need for them even when they had Peyton behind center.
21. Lions - Haason Reddick - DE/LB - Temple - the Lions need playmakers on defense (quick...name someone on the Lions defense) and hope Reddick can be that guy.
22. Dolphins - Tre'davious White - CB - LSU - the Dolphins could go any number of ways here (including trading back as this is QB territory for Kizer or Mahomes) but go CB and hope White can turn into a CB1.
23. Giants - Garett Bolles - T - Utah - it seems like the Giants always go DL or OL in the first round and they go offense this year and try to keep Eli upright with the addition of Bolles.
24. Raiders - Christian McCaffery - RB - Stanford - Beast Mode and McCaffrey? Yup, that's quite the 1-2 punch for the Raiders and will make the offense far more potent in 2017!
25. Texans - DeShon Kizer - QB - Notre Dame - I am not a Kizer fan personally but this isn't about me. I wouldn't be one bit surprised to see him fall to the 3rd round, but all it takes is one team to think they can fix him and the Texans are that team this year. Good luck!
26. Seahawks - Ryan Ramczyk - T - Wisconsin - the Seahawks don't have many holes, but their OL was atrocious last season. Ranczyk can play T or possibly G for them and will be an upgrade.
27. Chiefs - Zay Jones - WR - E. Carolina - surprise! So many people think the Chiefs are going QB here, but I don't. They were a solid playoff team last year and a few additions might get them even further. They need a bigger received and Jones could potentially be that guy for Alex Smith.
28 - Cowboys - Jabril Peppers - LB/S - Michigan - I can hear Cowboys fans cheering with jubilation already. Whether or not he ends up being a star in the NFL, he's a flashy pick that fans will love.
29. Packers - T.J. Watt - LB - Wisconsin - talk about making a splash! The Packers taking a guy from Wisconsin...look out! I think Watt is going to be a really, really good NFL player and the Packers are hoping so too.
30. Steelers - Patrick Mahomes - QB - Texas Tech - I wouldn't be surprised to see the Steelers make this pick for the future or to see someone try to move up to this spot to get Mahomes at the end of the first round. (Bills? Bears?)
31. Falcons - Taco Charlton - DE - Michigan - when you make it to the Super Bowl you typically don't have many holes so you can draft the best available player. The Falcons try to do that here with the selection of Taco.
32. Saints - Joe Mixon - RB - Oklahoma - gulp. Not only will they get media scrutiny in general for taking Mixon, they'll get it for almost 24 hours straight since he's the last pick of the first round. Eventually it'll go away (until/unless he does something stupid again) but the Saints hope the good play outweighs the bad short-term publicity.
***Bonus Pick***
33. Browns - Marlon Humphrey - CB - Alabama - if the Browns end up with Garrett, Foster and Humphrey with their first three picks they will begin 2017 light years ahead of 2016 in terms of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
