2018 NFL Draft Big Board

NFL Draft Big Board

2018 NFL Draft Big Board

Last Updated: April 13, 2018

2018 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings | 2018 NFL Mock Draft | DraftGeek’s Mock Draft

 

Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame

Guards like Nelson don’t come around too often, and he is an all but a lock to be a top 10 pick in the 2018 NFL draft. A road grader that is also a gifted pass protector, Nelson will be a key piece of a team’s offensive line much in the same way that Zack Martin has been for the Cowboys.

Saquon Barkley, RB Penn State

After a stellar first part of the season Barkley fell back to earth as the schedule got tougher and teams put more and more resources to stop him. Barkley can do it all, and will be especially valuable to teams that like their running backs being active in the passing game.

Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State

This year’s draft doesn’t have the amount of elite edge rushers as last, but Chubb is the cream of the crop. A relentless pass rusher, Chubb takes the top spot of defensive ends because of his consistent tape and skillset that shows very little weakness in any particular part of his game.

Roquan Smith, ILB, Georgia

A sideline to sideline wrecking machine, Smith will soon be on most mock draft’s top 15. The heart of an excellent Georgia defense, he can play in any scheme and be the captain of an NFL defense.

Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State

The next great defensive back to come out of Urban Meyer’s OSU teams, Ward is extremely technique sound, and ready to play in the NFL from day one. Teams stayed away from him for the most part, but he still will have to hear about his lack of INT’s. A little undersized, but a very willing and able tackler, he is one of the safer picks at the top of the draft.

Tremaine Edmunds, OLB, Virginia Tech

A linebacker with height, length, speed, and strength is rare, and Edmunds seems to be the whole package. He is a wild card in terms of position, and could be drafted into any defense.

Sam Darnold, QB, USC

The flashes of play this year, paired with the Rose Bowl last year will be enough to convince most decision makers that they can make him a franchise QB with the right coaching. Add to that excellent character and maturity beyond his years, he simply looks and acts the part of a star QB at the next level.

Minkah Fitzpatrick, CB, Alabama

A well coached and versatile defensive back, Fitzpatrick is as close to the prototype of what NFL defenses are looking for as any player in the draft.

Vita Vea, DT, Washington

It sounds strange to say, but if Vea were 30 pounds lighter he might go even higher in the draft. An enormous defensive tackle, before the snap you would think that he is your out of the box, 2 gap, run-stuffing nose tackle. However, even with his nose-tackle size, he has one gap skills and can move.

Derwin James, S, Florida State

Even though he was caught in a nightmare year for the Seminoles, James fought hard throughout the year, and teams game planned to stay away from him. Safeties that can effectively range centerfield, cover tight ends and running backs, maintain their gaps in the running game and blitz are prized possessions in the draft.

Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming

The most physically gifted of the QB prospects, Allen could see his stock rise during the draft process. After losing several key pieces of his offense to the NFL, which simply doesn’t happen at Wyoming too often, Allen should shine when all prospects are on equal footing during the off season evaluation process.

Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama

There is such a crowded field of wide receivers coming out each year, with the continued popularity of the spread, that many teams just wait until mid or later rounds to draft them. True “X” receivers come out only ever few years, but there has started to be a trend of finding that superb athlete that can run smooth routes, always getting open, and impossible to bring down in the secondary. Ridley looks like that type of receiver.

Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU

Could there be a hidden “X” receiver in this draft that no one is talking about?  Possibly that player is Courtland Sutton, who is big, fast and strong, and might rocket up draft boards now that the college football regular season has concluded and the next stage of the draft process has begun.

Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA

Rosen will be able to play from day one in the draft, and has received NFL type coaching at UCLA. Some injury problems as well as looming talk about his football character and strong opinions that he shares in clumsy ways sometimes probably keep him from the vying for the top spot, and could fall behind Allen in the pecking order of QB’s.

Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA

The top small school prospect in the draft, his measurables are off the charts and the draft process is going to be his best friend. What stands out is his explosiveness, and the combine should reveal some amazing explosion numbers.

Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame

The dynamic duo of McGlinchey and Nelson started to favor Nelson as the season wore on, but McGlinchey is still a rare talent at the position. NFL teams want dependable tackles, and that is just what McGlinchey is, along with having the versatility and experience playing on either side of the line.

Derrius Guice, RB LSU

Guice is finally healthy and has been dominating opponents, pushing him into the argument as the top running back in the draft. That might have sounded crazy at the beginning of the year when Barkley was the best player in the country, but if you put on tape of Guice later in the year, nobody was better.

Connor Williams, OT, Texas

Still coming back from an injury, Williams has put together enough tape to validate being one of, if not the top offensive tackle taken off the board. Last year’s best offensive tackles were best suited as right tackles, but Williams is the first of several offensive linemen that should go in the first round best suited for the blindside.

Martinas Rankins, OT, Mississippi State

Dominant in the run game, Rankins has proven over the course of the last season that he has the skills to play on the blindside. Has the elite length and skills to instantly take over at left tackle from day one in the NFL

Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa

What could have seemed like a flash in the pan performance got continually backed up, making evaluators go back and watch more tape on Jackson. With ideal size and speed, and excellent hands and vision, Jackson will be in the conversation as the top defensive back to be taken in the draft.

Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan

How good is Mo Hurst is a question that will be asked often during the draft season. He played with three future NFL players and saw limited time, and now has played a year as the man, but might have been slightly outshined by future first rounder Rashan Gary. The production is there this year, and he will have the entirety of the draft process to show his skillset.

Sony Michel, RB, Georgia

On the biggest stage against tough opponents, Michel is always coming up with the big plays. It got to be so much the case, that he has become the next level offensive weapon that has a lot of value as a decoy. Fast, explosive, and more well rounded as a running back than he gets credit for, Michel is a prototype of today’s NFL running back.

Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida

An incredibly speedy defensive back that is a weapon in the return game as well. A college transfer that had some issues at the start of his career, Hughes was the key piece to Central Florida’s defense.

Arden Key, DE, LSU

Probably the most gifted of all of the edge rushers in the draft, Key is just starting to come back into his prime form. He has the potential to even grab the top spot in the draft if he can keep that trajectory going throughout the draft process, as he is a physical specimen.

Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, OLB/DE, Oklahoma

A versatile edge rusher that could be pursued by both 3-4 and 4-3 defenses. Stood out in all of the big games, always getting around the edge and disrupting the passing game.

 

 

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