By: Jake Leicht
The 2018 NFL Draft is just over a month away. Since my last mock draft update, the Giants have traded Jason Pierre-Paul and their 4th round selection to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their third and fourth round picks this year. The Giants will now have to decide between adding a dynamic playmaker on offense (Saquon Barkley), a pass rusher to replace JPP (Bradley Chubb), or their quarterback of the future on draft night. The Patriots also made a big move by trading Brandin Cooks and a fourth rounder to the Los Angeles Rams for their first round pick (number 23 overall) and a sixth round pick this year. The Patriots now have two first and two second round picks, and they can now sit back and see what happens come draft night. They could easily move up to get a big time prospect, or stay put and fill some needs including at offensive tackle and rush end.
Unlike my last mock draft, this one will have plenty of trades included. Teams like the Bills, Dolphins, and Cardinals will probably be looking to move up to land one of the top four quarterbacks in the class. In this scenario, both the Bills and the Cardinals find themselves without a trade partner to move up to get one of those top guys. Some may ask why the Broncos would look to move up just one spot to secure a quarterback like my mock draft suggests, but keep in mind many teams will be calling the Browns to jump the Broncos for one of these potential franchise signal callers. Rumors are also swirling that the Browns and the Seahawks could be draft day trade partners as the Seahawks only have one pick in the top 119 picks this year. The Browns obviously have the draft capital to move up and land another solid prospect, while the Seahawks would accumulate some more draft equity.
Overall, this draft has a ton of intrigue, and we still have a long way to go before draft night.
1. Cleveland Browns- QB Sam Darnold
2. New York Giants- RB Saquon Barkley
3. New York Jets- QB Josh Rosen
4. Denver Broncos (Trade)- QB Josh Allen
5. Cleveland Browns (Trade)- DE Bradley Chubb
6. Miami Dolphins (Trade)- Baker Mayfield
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- S Derwin James
8. Chicago Bears- OG Quinton Nelson
9. San Francisco 49ers- S Minkah Fitzpatrick
10. Oakland Raiders- LB Roquan Smith
11. Indianapolis Colts (Trade)- CB Denzel Ward
12. Buffalo Bills- DT Da’Ron Payne
13. Washington Redskins- LB Tremaine Edmunds
14. Green Bay Packers- DB Jaire Alexander
15. Arizona Cardinals- OT Connor Williams
16. Baltimore Ravens- LB Rashaan Evans
17. Los Angeles Chargers- DT Vita Vea
18. Cleveland Browns (Trade)- OT Mike McGlinchey
19. Dallas Cowboys- LB Marcus Davenport
20. Detroit Lions- RB Derrius Guice
21. Cincinnati Bengals- G/C Isaiah Wynn
22. Buffalo Bills- CB Josh Jackson
23. New England Patriots- OLB Harold Landry
24. Carolina Panthers- WR Christian Kirk
25. Tennessee Titans- DT Maurice Hurst
26. Atlanta Falcons- DT Taven Bryan
27. New Orleans Saints- TE Mike Gesicki
28. Pittsburgh Steelers- LB Leighton Vander Esch
29. Jacksonville Jaguars- QB Lamar Jackson
30. Minnesota Vikings- WR Calvin Ridley
31. New England Patriots- OT Kolten Miller
32. Philadelphia Eagles- WR Courtland Sutton