There are a couple super important things to remember when it comes to a college football writer covering the NFL Draft. First off, I’ve accurately assessed all of your favorite NFL teams weaknesses and needs. I spent a good 45 minutes looking over depth charts, salary caps, and off-season acquisitions. Secondly, due to my hard work this is the most perfect NFL Mock Draft on the internet.
I present my 1st round picks!
1. Browns – QB Sam Darnold, USC
2. Giants – RB Saquon Barkley, Penn State
3. Jets (from Colts) – QB Josh Rosen, UCLA
4. Browns (from Texans) – S Derwin James, Florida State
5. Broncos – QB Josh Allen, Wyoming *Traded to Bills*
6. Colts (from Jets) – LB Roquan Smith, Georgia
7. Buccaneers – OG Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame
8. Bears – DE Bradley Chubb, NC State
9. 49ers – DE Harold Landry, Boston College
10. Raiders – CB Josh Jackson, Iowa
11. Dolphins – QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
12. Bills (from Bengals) – CB Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama *Broncos selection from Bills*
13. Redskins – DT Maurice Hurst, Michigan
14. Packers – CB Denzel Ward, Ohio State
15. Cardinals – OT Connor Williams, Texas
16. Ravens – WR Calvin Ridley, Alabama
17. Chargers – OT Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame
18. Seahawks – CB Donte Jackson, LSU
19. Cowboys – DT Vita Vea, Washington
20. Lions – DE Arden Key, LSU
21. Bengals (from Bills) – OG Isaiah Wynn, Georgia
22. Bills (from Chiefs) – WR James Washington, Oklahoma State
23. Patriots (from Rams) – LB Tremaine Edmunds, Virginia Tech
24. Panthers – WR Courtland Sutton, SMU
25. Titans – LB Rashaan Evans, Alabama
26. Falcons – DT Da’Ron Payne, Alabama
27. Saints – DE Marcus Davenport, UTSA
28. Steelers – S Ronnie Harrison, Alabama
29. Jaguars – OT Jamarco Jones, Ohio State
30. Vikings – OT Tyrell Crosby, Oregon
31. Patriots – CB Isaiah Oliver, Colorado
32. Eagles – RB Derrius Guice, LSU
I went with what I’d perceive to be a little chalk-y with the first few picks, assuming the Browns really don’t mess things up too badly and do something hilariously stupid.
I only went with one trade (didn’t want to make this too silly) and I’ve been inundated with so much Bills coverage about a quarterback that they have to be making another move up the draft to get someone. I thought the Broncos would be a good trading partner as Denver’s needs could be met anywhere in the middle of the first round. The Bills signed A.J. McCarron during the off-season for a 2-year deal worth $10 million total on the cap–he’s clearly a stop-gap for a younger quarterback and the team hasn’t been this well positioned with assets to move up for a signal-caller in a while.
I have The Glinch a little higher than most but whatever. The Chargers seem to love Notre Dame players.
Nelson to the Bucs would make him the highest guard ever drafted out of Notre Dame and tied for the 3rd highest drafted guard ever in my lifetime.
This isn’t Alabama-heavy at the top but I still have 5 Crimson Tide selections going in the first round. That would give Nick Saban an eye-popping 27 picks in the first round since he started coaching at Alabama. To put that in perspective, you have to go back to the 1978 NFL Draft to get 27 selections in the first round for Notre Dame players.
I am all-in on a Jewish superstar in New York and would wager Rosen is the best quarterback in this draft.
Josh Allen checks nearly every box as a huge bust. It’s like he was specially built in a lab to be the most overrated quarterback in this draft. A quarterback from Wyoming just threw for 1,812 yards with the 73rd best passer rating in college football (14 spots higher than Wimbush) and might go No. 1 overall. It’s 2018 and we’re still handing multi-million dollar contracts to guys because they’re tall, white, and can throw hard.
I think if the Browns use the #4 pick on a safety tweener one year after taking Jabrill Peppers, their fans might have a total meltdown.
If Chubb falls to the Bears, that’s pretty much a dream scenario for Bears fans. At this point, I think most are thinking Nelson is the best case scenario, only because it seems unlikely Chubb would fall that far. I know I’d be happy with that pick.
I’m very interested to see where the WRs go in this draft. I honestly think Christian Kirk might end up putting up the best statistical career of any receiver in this draft, but how high can you take a slot WR?
Derwin James is like Peppers, except he’s really good. 😀
I think James is better too, but if I’m a Browns fan, I’d see a guy with identical combine results, identical scouting reports (Safety vs. LB questions), and identical inability to force turnovers. And then I’d remember that my team is the Browns and their history of making the same draft mistakes over and over.
I love Roquan but don’t see him going before Chubb. Similar to guard, teams just don’t seem to value MLB as highly as other positions.
I think Mo Hurst is really excellent too (and as a Falcons fan would love to see him fall), but it sounds like there is real concern about his health and that could cause him to drop out of Round 1.
I’m convinced Lamar is also going Round 1. There’s just so many teams that need a QB in the immediate or short-term future that even with Darnold / Rosen / Allen / Mayfield going top-10 you could see Arizona, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, New Orleans, and even the Giants all taking a hard look. Add that to a very barren looking QB class next year (best picks are maybe Drew Lock, Jarrett Stidham, and Justin Hebert?) and I think it’s a virtual lock someone pulls the trigger on him tonight.
And you left out “has a sketchy past on Twitter that he didn’t have the foresight to delete”, which is way more of a red flag than any wunderlic score
Also not to parse the mock draft too much, but bills ain’t keeping that 2nd first rounder if they trade up
I do not understand why there is any interest in Allen in the first round. He wasn’t even a very good college QB. Not only was he not good, he got worse from his JR to SR year. He had almost identical stats to Wimbush last year, but 56% completions instead of 49%. Same TDs, same INTs, same Y/A. He was a MAC level QB.
Has any NFL QB ever had a 10% better comp% than he did in college?
Jay Cutler seems like the perfect comparison for Allen. Throws it wicked hahd, had similar Comp%, TD/INT and Y/A as Allen. Cutler has a slightly better career % in the NFL than college, so he showed you can at least improve a bit. This seems like Allen’s ceiling. I wouldn’t call Cutler a bust, but would anyone spend a first round pick on Jay Cutler’s career?
Cutler has started 153 games and has 220 TD’s in the NFL. He’s mistake prone with all the interceptions but plenty a former 1st round NFL QB has had way worse a career than that. I’m not sure he’s a guy I’d want to build a franchise around, but plenty of teams have gotten worse or more unsettled play over the past decade-plus. His personality is a dud but I’d say he was worthy of a first round pick, he more or less panned out pretty well, it wasn’t like he was Christian Ponder or anything.
I think Allen has great timing and he is like a poor man’s Carson Wentz from the background of a small school up to big body, not bad athlete, very strong arm. He seems like a lot more of a bust potential at this point, but such is life drafting in the first round. He wouldn’t be my 1st or 2nd choice if picking at the top of the draft either, but can see the appeal. QB’s get over-drafted as it is.
This is an interesting discussion. As I mentioned, Cutler isn’t a bust. Here are first round QBs since he was picked that had, or on pace to have, significantly worse careers: Manziel, Manuel, RGIII, Weeden, Locker, Gabbert, Ponder, Tebow, Sanchez, Freeman, Russell, Quinn, Vince Young, Leinart.
But does being better than 3/4 of the first round picks in the past 10 years actually make you a good first round pick? If this were any other position, he would unquestionably be a good pick, but in my opinion if you can’t draft a potential top 10 QB, then it’s not worth it.
So: Browns, Manuel, Eventually Browns, Browns, Locker, Gabbert, Ponder, Tebow, Sanchez, Freeman, Russell, Browns, Vince Young, Leinart.
The Browns really are the Brownsiest.
I’d take Jay Cutler with a mid-to-late first round pick. But I definitely wouldn’t take a guy who has a Jay Cutler ceiling.
I don’t get the Allen love at all. 1 TD/8 INTs vs Power 5 teams. Terrible accuracy. Even with his strong arm, he barely completed any actual deep throws. He seems like an medium ceiling, very very low floor type player. If I wanted that, I’d just take Lamar Jackson. At least his numbers came against good competition.
“wicked hahd” upvote for Maine accent
I’m impressed you recognized Maine! I figure most would have guessed Boston.
Well, when you marry a Mainer and your kids are born here you begin to recognize the regional dialect. Hell, I even like Moxie.
You cahn’t get they-ah from hea-ah… Ah-yuh.
My parents have vacationed in Dennysville, in the Eastport/Machias area, every summer for almost 30 years. I have very fond memories of the area and the people. Such a great place!
I’ve never even been that far up. I bet it is beautiful.
Good stuff, E… We were just talking about Glinch behind the scenes – there’s some serious late momentum suggesting he could be a top ten pick. Since yesterday Mayock put him at 10 to Oakland, and Daniel Jeremiah (former scout) and Peter Schrager (NFL.com/FoxSports guy) put him at 9 to San Francisco. I’ve seen some other rumors that San Francisco will take him if they can’t get Smith, and I don’t think Smith will be available at 9. Could get interesting.
I don’t think Q will go lower than 6 – the Colts really, really love him. No idea how the QB derby will shake out; highly valuing any of these guys doesn’t make sense, but so many bad teams need a QB that they’re all going to be overdrafted. I like Rosen but his ceiling is limited, Darnold is Jay Cutler 2.0, Mayfield isn’t Johnny Manziel but he’s dangerously close to being in the zip code, Jackson has a decent track record but durability questions, and Allen is even more of a guaranteed bust than Jamarcus Russell. Real Murderer’s Row, that.
Well you (or they, whatever) had that McGlinchey thing right. That is *waaaaaaaay* too high for drafting him IMO, but it’s good for ND – and, of course, good for him. If I were a 49ers fan, though, I would be super unhappy with that with Minkah Fitzpatrick, Da’ron Payne, and Derwin James still on the board.
Hey man, I had Nelson right too! Credit where credit is due… The rumor was that the Niners were looking for someone who could play RT for a few years and slide over to LT when Staley retires, and they think Glinch is the guy. If you were curious about their purported reasoning.
Over the last couple of weeks sentiment grew for him being both the top upside OT and the most plug-and-play OT in this draft. As I thought about it last night, I think for us he really “suffered” from playing next to Nelson. Nelson was virtually flawless, and it made McGlinchey, who apparently was very, very good, look not so good to us. Pro people have raved about his tape, the same tape we watched all season. Maybe the difference is that they were just able to mentally crop Q-perman out of the picture.
Q goes 6 to the Colts, Glich 9 to San Fran and the Irish are the only team to have two players drafted in the top 10. Pretty good.
Per ND’s Mike Bertsch, it’s the third time in the last 50 years that the same school has had two OL go in the top 10.
NAILED THIS MOCK DRAFT.
That’s what I was thinking. Eric really nailed this one.
So Nick Watkins is leaving? The second presumed starter to transfer? Also, I get that there may have been other things with Hayes, but he is going to UGA.
What is going on?
Was Watkins going to be a starter? I think there was a pretty good chance he saw himself sliding down the depth chart and decided to bail.
He wasn’t going to start – he got Wally Pipped by Troy Pride at the end of last season. Pride has strengthened his grip on the job through spring practice, too. He would’ve played substantial minutes, for sure, but he wasn’t going to start.
I think Hayes would’ve started but been involved in a pretty heavy time share with Kareem, maybe to the point of being a part-time starter. I think there’s more to that story than just PT, though; I can’t imagine he has a clearer path to playing time at Georgia than he did at ND.
Not quite on Hurst!