The Browns have a chance to land the top two picks in the 2018 NFL Draft, a not-far-fetched scenario John Breech explained earlier this week. Seriously, it could happen.
Welcome to your new job, John Dorsey. No pressure. Time to get some “real players.”
Obviously, below is not the current draft order.
The Browns have a chance to land the top two picks in the 2018 NFL Draft, a not-far-fetched scenario John Breech explained earlier this week. Seriously, it could happen.
Welcome to your new job, John Dorsey. No pressure. Time to get some “real players.”
Obviously, below is not the current draft order.
1. Cleveland Browns
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA. Browns GM John Dorsey has the reputation as an old-school “football guy.” That indicates to me that he’ll go with the traditional pocket passer with the first overall pick. Rosen has a clean delivery and is typically impressive within the confines of the tackles as a thrower.
2. Cleveland Browns from Texans
Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma. For as much as many Browns fans would probably despise this, I think the best option in this crazy scenario would be Cleveland trading down a few spots to add an extra pick or two. But staying put, Dorsey grabs the mammoth left tackle to protect his quarterback as his team begins a new era.
3. New York Giants
Sam Darnold, QB, USC. Top two quarterbacks stay the same. Darnold has played well at a high-profile program for two seasons, so he’s gotten a head start on the immense spotlight that comes with being the signal-caller for the Giants. New Yorkers will love the hard-nosed playing style of Darnold, who consistently demonstrated his toughness at USC.
4. Indianapolis Colts
Connor Williams, OT, Texas. The Colts have a fair amount of needs, but this is the best need-prospect match at this point. Williams has All-Pro upside as a pass-blocker, and with Andrew Luck hoping to return in 2018, that upside is vital for Indianapolis.
5. San Francisco 49ers
Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU. With Sutton, Marquise Goodwin, and Pierre Garcon, the 49ers will have a desired blend of size and skill sets at the receiver position for Jimmy Garoppolo. Sutton has true No. 1 receiver talent, and his presence will elevate the efficiency of Goodwin and Garcon.
6. Chicago Bears
Minkah Fitzpatrick, CB, Alabama. The Bears would like to go offense in Round 1, and I’ll assume they have their eyes on Sutton. With him gone, they flip to defense to round out their underrated defensive backfield with Fitzpatrick, a do-everything cornerback/safety hybrid with the length and fluidity to cover and a mastery-level understanding of how to get home as a blitzer.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State. The Buccaneers would probably lean toward a cornerback here. With Fitzpatrick off the board, they address what will help the secondary — pass-rush. Chubb isn’t a Joey Bosa prospect, yet the NC State isn’t far away from where Bosa was coming out of Ohio State. This fills a need a premium position.
8. Cincinnati Bengals
Derwin James, S, Florida State. With James and George Iloka, the Bengals would suddenly have two enormous, versatile safeties on their defense. The two can rotate their responsibilities from play-to-play, which would help to cause confusion for opposing quarterbacks.
9. Denver Broncos
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma. For this mock, let’s assume John Elway can’t lure Kirk Cousins, Tyrod Taylor or big fish Andrew Luck to Denver. So he makes this pick, fully understanding the controversy it’ll cause, especially after taking Paxton Lynch in Round 1 of the 2016 draft.
10. New York Jets
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville. Despite a heavy recent investment at the quarterback position over the past five drafts, the Jets still need one. Jackson has transcendent potential but certainly comes with some risk. Gang Green’s willing to roll the dice because of Jackson’s amazing talent.
11. Arizona Cardinals
Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA. Miller is a huge left tackle prospect with long arms and outstanding athleticism for the position. He flourished protecting Rosen at UCLA and will be a foundational piece of the next phase of the Bruce Arians era with the Cardinals.
12. Oakland Raiders
Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia. Time to celebrate in the Raiders draft room. Smith is clearly the linebacker with the most game-changing ability in the 2018 draft due to his play-recognition skills, athleticism, and speed-to-power capabilities.
14. Miami Dolphins
Braden Smith, OG, Auburn. First “surprise” of the night, but Smith has an impressive resume as one of Auburn’s long-time guards who had an excellent career against top competition. He’s well-versed in the zone and power run schemes, giving Adam Gase plenty of options on offense.
15. Los Angeles Chargers
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State. Despite being a redshirt senior with loads of experience, the Chargers, a team without a variety of roster holes, makes this pick with eyes well into the future. A pure pocket quarterback, Rudolph can learn from Philip Rivers for a year or two before taking over in Los Angeles.
16. Green Bay Packers
James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State. Back-to-back selections for the ‘Pokes. With Jordy Nelson in the twilight of his illustrious career, the Packers reload at wideout with Washington, who has a wonderful blend of possession receiver and deep threat skills.
17. Baltimore Ravens
Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State. Based on the hype, another relative tumble for Barkley, a drop only precipitated by the position he plays and the depth of this draft class, not his overall talent. The Ravens would be ecstatic to land the insanely gifted runner here.
18. Detroit Lions
Maurce Hurst, DT, Michigan. The Lions might have a more glaring need at defensive end, but any type of pass-rush improvement would be greatly helpful to Teryl Austin’s unit. Hurst has a game reminiscent of Geno Aktins.
19. Seattle Seahawks
Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA. Seattle isn’t afraid to make an eye-opening first-round pick, and selecting a prospect from the University of Texas-San Antonio would raise some eyebrows. But at 6-7 and 250 pounds with a long reach and explosiveness, Davenport fits the profile the Seahawks love.
20. Dallas Cowboys
Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama. Ridley would give the Cowboys the deep threat they desperately need on offense, thereby opening up the underneath game for Dak Prescott to methodically move the ball down the field.
21. Tennessee Titans
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, OLB, Oklahoma. Dick LeBeau doesn’t shy away from multiple fronts on defense, but his scheme has 3-4 roots. Okoronkwo is the premier 3-4 outside linebacker in this class, and in Tennessee, on a defense already boasting some talented players, he can make a big impact right away.
22. Buffalo Bills
Vita Vea, DT, Washington. Two consecutive weeks with this pairing. Vea can help a defense in many ways. He’ll simply eat blocks and clog lanes due to his size at 6-5 and around 340 pounds, but he’s not a stationary nose tackle. The Washington star flashes high-caliber hand use and has twitchy athleticism relative to his massive frame.
23. Atlanta Falcons
Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma. Tight ends in Round 1 are usually seen as a luxury pick. The Falcons are in a luxury-pick situation, and, actually, could use a reliable pass-catcher over the middle.
24. New Orleans Saints
Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas. If there’s one position in which the Saints clearly need an upgrade on defense it’s the linebacker spot. Jefferson is athletic and matured into being a force against the run during his tenure at Texas.
25. Buffalo Bills from Chiefs
Marcell Ateman, WR, Oklahoma State. With the top quarterbacks unavailable, the Bills go receiver. With Ateman and Kelvin Benjamin, the Bills would have two matchup nightmare boundary wideouts capable of coming down with the ball even in tight coverage.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars
Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame. Hard to change this pick. McGlinchey can get exposed against speed rushers but is ready to dominate as a run-blocker, the latter part of that sentence is music to the ears of Doug Marrone and Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville.
27. Los Angeles Rams
Joshua Jackson, CB, Iowa. The Rams have been unbelievably efficient — particularly compared to where they were a year ago — on offense in 2017. More secondary talent would help the defense, and Jackson has everything needed to be a No. 1 cornerback at the NFL level … size, toughness, plus athleticism and ball skills.
28. Carolina Panthers
Deontay Burnett, WR, USC. There are many similarities between Burnett and 2017 second-round pick Curtis Samuel. However, Burnett is the more polished receiver and can provide legitimate over-the-top speed right away in Mike Shula’s offense.
29. Pittsburgh Steelers
Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville. Had Alexander not been banged up in this final season at Louisville, there’s a good chance he would’ve had a monster year. His smoothness in coverage coupled with his awareness when the ball is in the air make him a top-flight cornerback prospect in this class.
30. Minnesota Vikings
Chukwuma Okorafor, OT, Western Michigan. It’s not easy finding big holes on the Vikings roster. While the offensive line has improved this season from where it recently had been, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Okorafor has the size, athleticism, and length to be a steady left tackle for a decade in Minnesota.
31. New England Patriots
Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech. For as gifted as Jefferson is at linebacker, Edmunds, at 6-4 and around 250 pounds, might have more inherent talent and twitchiness. Bill Belichick understands the importance of quality linebacker play in today’s NFL.
32. Philadelphia Eagles
Bryce Love, RB, Stanford. Yes, the Eagles have Jay Ajayi and have gotten quality contributions from Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement. They just can’t pass on Love here, an electric home-run hitter with the ability to pick up yardage between the tackles when blocking isn’t perfect.