The 2018 NFL Draft landscape continues to change. The NFL Combine and several trades by the Cleveland Browns shook up the first round significantly.
More: 2018 NFL Draft preview, player profiles and latest mock drafts
The 2018 NFL Combine opened eyes of the NFL franchise front offices, pundits and fans alike as it usually does. The week-long event that takes place in Indianapolis, IN is always filled with the big names in the business from coaches and GM’s, to scouts and the top agents. The 2018 edition got to see Saquon Barkley dominate the field drills and measurements proving to be the elite athlete he showed on film.
The Cleveland Browns are the on the clock first, again, and will have their choice of high level prospects as this is one of the most top-heavy and deepest drafts in quite a long time. The talent level in 2018 can completely rebuild an ailing franchise like Cleveland once the players have the time to develop.
However, Cleveland isn’t the only franchise needing to hit big on their first round picks. The New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts have new regimes in place and need to rebuild quickly to keep their fanbases happy. The need for high level quarterback plays has never been more evident than in recent seasons and nearly ten teams could need a quarterback in 2018, with six high-profile candidates on the draft boards and a few lesser-known prospects fitting into the first two days as well.
The Cleveland Browns are on the clock.
Needs: QB, CB, RT
With Cleveland on the clock first once again I feel like the Browns have to hit another home run. Myles Garrett played well, when healthy, logging 31 tackles and seven sacks in 11 games as a rookie. The first overall pick can’t be about “filling needs” only, it has to also be about getting the best player for the investment.
Cleveland is in need of a franchise quarterback after failed picks of Johnny Manziel and Deshone Kizer. Cleveland also has to make sure that they can get a player that can’t be replicated by another player three picks later. What I mean by this is that Bradley Chubb, Saquon Barkley, and Quenton Nelson have no peer in the 2018 draft. While there is still uncertainty about who is the top passer between Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen.
The Browns first overall pick will be Saquon Barkley. Barkley behind the Browns offensive line and with weapons around him like David Njoku, newly acquired Jarvis Landry and Duke Johnson can ease into the physical demands and pressure of the NFL. Cleveland will take Barkley who is the most athletic player to come through the NFL Combine since Jadeveon Clowney.
Needs: QB, OT, RB
The New York Giants have a new head football coach, again. The Giants have hired Pat Shurmur, the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, to take over their franchise. New York finished 11-5 in 2016 but slipped to 3-13 in 2017 and saw Ben McAdoo lose his job.
Shurmur will want to draft and groom his own quarterback as Eli Manning rides off into the sunset. The Giants need a quarterback that is okay waiting his turn, while also being mentally tough enough to handle the spotlight of New York City and Page Six.
I see the Giants selecting USC’s Sam Darnold. Darnold is used to the media attention of Los Angeles so New York’s market won’t faze him. He is physically gifted and interviewed well at the combine. Darnold is seen as a player that avoids controversy and is a leader in the huddle.
After a strong combine showing, he just needs a good pro day in order to cement himself as the second overall pick. Josh Rosen had a rocky combine in the passing drills and Josh Allen is still seen as a question mark. Shurmur will draft the quarterback of the future and build the franchise around Sam Darnold.
Needs: OL, ILB, Edge
The Indianapolis Colts are trying to find their identity in a post-Peyton Manning and injured Andrew Luck landscape. The Colts won the “suck for Luck” sweepstakes to draft Luck in 2012. However, with his should injuries the Colts could find themselves looking for a new quarterback by 2019.
For now, they need to build their roster with elite players and Saquon Barkley is the only player more dominant at his position than Bradley Chubb in this entire draft. Chubb is a sure-fire pro bowl caliber defensive end that will remind Colts fans of Dwight Freeney. Freeney had seven double-digit sack seasons in blue and white before moving on in his career. Chubb is that type of player and the best player available in the third slot of the draft.
The Colts could use help on the offensive line and at inside linebacker, but the best player available will be Chubb and that’s who they’ll go with in 2018. Quenton Nelson from Notre Dame could be the pick here as well but it would be hard to pass on the elite pass rusher that Chubb is in a pass-happy NFL era.
Needs: QB, CB, RT
The Browns are in need of a quarterback to head the franchise and with their fourth overall selection they’ll select Josh Allen. Allen won’t need to start right away with Tyrod Taylor coming on board from a trade with the Bills. Instead he can sit and wait until the bye week, or even the entire season, as he acclimates to the speed of the game and an NFL playbook.
The Browns offensive line and running back situation will be shored up, so there won’t be a lack of offensive weapons to help him get started as a rookie.
Allen has all of the NFL tools from his size at 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds to mobility, and a strong arm. The issues for Allen are his penchant for turnovers and his tendency to overthrow on deep routes. The more accurate passers in this draft class are Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen. Rosen has stated he wants no part of Cleveland and Mayfield doesn’t have Allen’s upside.
Allen also had a rocky Senior Bowl and was injured during the regular season after struggling against bigger named competition. However, the potential is there and the Browns have been known to take chances at the quarterback position.
Needs: OL, QB, ILB
The Denver Broncos need a quarterback but they seem like the franchise that is going to look for a proven free agent veteran like Nick Foles, Kirk Cousins or Case Keenum rather than dip into the NFL Draft for one again. Denver has wasted first rounders on Paxton Lynch and Tim Tebow and won’t go that route again.
Thus, Denver will need to protect their quarterback and try to establish a run game. They’ll do so behind the highest rated offensive lineman in the draft, Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson. Nelson has been as high as first overall on some draft boards but I see him landing in a good spot here at fifth overall.
John Elway will go with the best player available but it’s also a position of need for Denver. The Broncos just came off throwing a horrible twenty-two interceptions in 2017. They have a good wide receiver in Demaryius Thomas and a 1,000 yard rusher in C.J. Anderson. If Denver can protect the quarterback and open up running lanes they can rely on their defense to get back in the playoff picture which is where Elway demands them to be.
Needs: QB, Edge, RB
The New York Jets, like their stadium sharing counterparts the Giants, need a quarterback. The Jets have been plagued by a lack of a franchise quarterback since Chad Pennington‘s shoulder issues saw him pop up in Miami a decade ago. Since then the Jets haven’t been a regular playoff franchise.
New York has tried a number of different options but haven’t found the right fit. Josh Rosen, a tall, lanky kid from Southern California with a tennis background just might be the guy. Rosen has the ego and temperament for the big city being from Los Angeles, CA and having athletes for parents.
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Rosen is the most intelligent and per information leaked from the combine has the most football intelligence in the draft pool as well. The Jets are looking at a day one starter in the NFL. Rosen has shown toughness in his career having overcome poor offensive line play and multiple offensive coordinators while a Bruin.
The UCLA product is the most NFL ready of the top three prospects and will be tasked with starting right away and sharing the spotlight once again with Sam Darnold, this time 3,000 miles away from home.
Needs: DE, CB, RB
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to improve their defensive backfield and there’s no better way to bolster it than by drafting hard-hitting, uber-athletic safety/cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick has size, speed, and power where he can play over a tight end and jam them. He can cover a speedy slot receiver or he can play centerfield and hawk down interceptions.
Fitzpatrick is a big hitter in the run game and a playmaker when the football is in the air. Tampa is in a ‘now or never’ mode regarding head football coach Dirk Koetter, and franchise quarterback Jameis Winston. And that’s if Winston is cleared of yet another accusation of sexual harassment, this time by a female Uber driver. If Winston is cleared, he and Koetter have to make a playoff run in order to keep their jobs.
2018 is the final year of Winston’s rookie contract and Tampa Bay might be willing to let him go between his off-field incidents and his on-field roller coaster play. The situation is complex, but sitting at seven its unlikely that the Bucs reach on another quarterback, instead they’ll opt for a safe, but dominant defender.
Needs: WR, OL, CB
The Chicago Bears have their quarterback of the future in Mitchell Trubisky, and a new head football coach in Matt Nagy. The Bears already have a 1,000 yard rusher in Jordan Howard and will go after the defensive side of the ball in 2018 after drafting Trubisky in the first round of 2017.
Denzel Ward, the former Ohio State Buckeye cornerback, will be the Bears’ first round selection. The Bears also need a wide receiver for Trubisky and offensive line help but it’s seemed like Chicago has needed those two things for the past decade.
Chicago will go with the speedy Ward to improve their porous defensive backfield. The Bears face quarterbacks like Aaron Rogers and Matt Stafford twice a season and need to be able to stop the Packers and Lions as well as the Vikings who will most likely be trusting a veteran to lead their team at the quarterback position.
Needs: Edge, OG, CB
The 49ers are currently under the control of John Lynch. Lynch, a former NFL pro bowl safety, is a Stanford graduate and left the broadcast booth to right the 49ers sinking ship. In his first draft in 2017, Lynch pulled a brilliant coup trading San Francisco’s No. 2 overall pick and turning it into Solomon Thomas and Rueben Foster in the first round.
Lynch then traded for Patriots’ backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo who subsequently led the 49ers to a 5-0 record in his first five stats. Garoppolo got paid this offseason to the tune of five years and $137.5 million.
With quarterback locked up for the foreseeable future, Lynch must turn his attention to the defense which was once the building block of the 49ers dynasty. The 49ers have a franchise running back in Carlos Hyde and will focus on drafting another genetic freak in Tremaine Edmunds out of Virginia Tech. Edmunds measured in at 6-foot-5 and 253 pounds while running a 4.54 in the 40-yard dash. Thomas, Foster and Edmunds make a dynamic trio on defense.
Needs: LB, DB, RB
Jon Gruden’s an eccentric fella and his first move in the right direction was to bring in Paul Guenther as his defensive coordinator. Guenther has spent the past decade plus in Cincinnati learning defense under Marvin Lewis. One would suspect Guenther will run a 4-3 defense and needs a true inside linebacker to man the middle. That player is Georgia’s Roquan Smith.
Smith is 6-foot-1 and 236 pounds. He ran a 4.51 in the 40-yard dash at the combine. Smith logged 252 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in his three seasons at Georgia.
The Raiders already have Derek Carr, Amari Cooper and Marshawn Lynch on offense. They’ll look to the defense in round one to add to Khalil Mack and his 78 tackles and 10.5 sacks in 2017. If anything, Gruden will run a ball control west coast offense that will rely on their defense, like he did in Tampa, and that will be good for the Smith-Mack duo.
Needs: CB, OG, RB
Adam Gase may finally be prepared to move the Miami Dolphins on from Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill missed the entire 2017 season recovering from a torn ACL in his knee and will have to convince the Dolphins between now and late April that they shouldn’t be ready to move on after six seasons of mediocre quarterback play.
Miami’s young offensive minded coach might be looking for his own franchise quarterback and the tenacious Baker Mayfield should be the selection. Mayfield might not be NFL-ready today, but Miami does have Matt Moore on the roster.
Miami is a franchise in flux and has been for the better part of a decade. The Dolphins’ defense is aging while their young offense is moving on as Jay Ajayi was traded and Jarvis Landry has been traded as well. The Dolphins have had good but not great first round luck as Lamar Miller and Olivier Vernon have had good careers while Dion Jordan was a complete bust. If Miami is looking to truly rebuild a locker room leader like Mayfield is the way to go in South Florida.
Needs: OL, LB, TE
Marcus Davenport has shot up the draft charts after a great Senior Bowl showing and NFL Combine. Davenport, who arrived at UTSA at 190 pounds, measured in at 6-foot-6 and 264 pounds. Davenport was clocked at 4.58 in the 40-yard dash and jumped 124 inches in the broad jump.
This raw edge rusher has put up some Jadeveon Clowney type numbers, much like Bradley Chubb, and will draw the eye of Marvin Lewis. The Bengals finished 2017 at 7-9 but have playmakers in quarterback Andy Dalton, running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver AJ Green. Like every NFL team the defense could use more pass rush and Davenport will be hard to handle with those measurables.
After the Marvin Lewis ‘should he stay or should he go’ saga, the Bengals will need to make the playoffs in order for him to stay as the head football coach for 16th season. Lewis is well liked by the players and the Bengals’ owners have taken that into consideration. With a playmaker like Davenport on the defensive line the Bengals should see drastic improvements to their defense in 2018.
Needs: DL, LB, WR
The Washington Football Team is a very strange franchise. Owner Daniel Snyder has stood by his team mascot and nickname and refuses to adapt to the times. All the while he plays a poor-man’s Jerry Jones with his franchise.
Snyder’s most recent dabbling is to let Kirk Cousins go and trade for Alex Smith from the Kansas City Chiefs. Smith has been a stabilizing force in Kansas City after being a near bust in San Francisco. With the quarterback situation taken care of, Jay Gruden will land 6-foot-4 and 347 pound defensive tackle Vita Vea. Vea ran a 5.1 in the 40-yard dash at the combine and proved his strength by putting up 41 bench press reps at 225 pounds.
Vea has play-now value and Jay Gruden may need that if he plans to stay in D.C. any longer. Daniel Snyder has been very patient overcoming his Robert Griffin III mistake and probably won’t be patient with another 8-8 or 7-9-type Gruden season. The Smith trade will be a make or break move for Gruden and Snyder in their relationship as owner and head football coach.
Needs: CB, WR, OT
Former Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey lives and breathes football. He’s the cousin of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and has started for three seasons for the Irish. McGlinchey didn’t test super well when compared to the defensive freaks in the draft, but his long limbs make the broad jump and bench press reps a little more daunting.
The rangy blocker could use an NFL strength and nutrition system to get a more professional football type body to uphold the rigors of the NFL season. McGlinchey is just what Aaron Rodgers needs. The Green Bay Packers offensive line needs another longterm starter and McGlinchey looks to be just that.
Rodgers needs less time being battered around and the Packers’ run game needs a bolster as well. Green Bay isn’t a perfect roster by any means, but they are one that can be playoff caliber if Rodgers is healthy and the running game can take pressure off of him. McGlinchey is a day one starter at right tackle in Green Bay.
Needs: QB, OL, WR
The Cardinals are another franchise that will be looking for a free agent veteran quarterback rather than a rookie to start in 2018. The Cardinals have a solid core of players and need to capitalize on Larry Fitzgerald returning for one last season. Carson Palmer has retired with head football coach Bruce Arians and new coach Steve Wilkes has three perennial backups on his current roster.
Arizona will be in the Case Keenum or Nick Foles market, or maybe even find a way to acuire Ryan Tannehill. This leaves Arizona needing to find a wide receiver of the future, but also one to take coverage off of Fitzgerald and that’s the polished Crimson Tide receiver Calvin Ridley.
Ridley measured in at 6-foot, 190 pounds and ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash. That gives Arizona a speed receiver in Ridley and a possession receiver in Fitzgerald. Whatever quarterback that does sign with Arizona will have a high-caliber defense to rely on and two really good receivers as well as David Johnson returning from injury.
Needs: WR, TE, ILB
Joe Flacco is nearing the end of his career at Baltimore. Flacco has slumped down to 5.7 yards per attempt in 2017. If Flacco is going to stay a Raven for his 12th season he’ll have to do better than the 18 touchdown and 13 interception ratio he had in 2017.
Flacco has been the Ravens’ starting quarterback since being drafted from Delaware in 2008. GE guided the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory in 2013. After the 2013 season Ray Lewis and Ed Reed have since moved on and the Ravens have slumped off to only 22 wins the past three seasons.
Courtland Sutton, the former Southern Methodist wide receiver, has started to climb the NFL Draft charts. Sutton is 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds. Sutton ran a 4.54 in the 40-yard dash while posting a 4.11 in the 20-yard shuttle. His vertical jump was 35.5″ and the broad jump was 124 inches, which is phenomenal. Sutton is the big body receiver with a ton of athletic ability that the Ravens need to match up well with Mike Wallace.
Needs: ILB, QB, DL
The Los Angeles Chargers are an NFL franchise in flux. The Chargers have moved from San Diego to L.A. and have a young head football coach named Anthony Lynn. He’s not crosstown rival Sean McVay young, but he’s only 49 years old.
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Lynn has a veteran quarterback in Phillip Rivers who is nearing retirement after a long NFL career. Rivers is going into his 15th season as an NFL quarterback and has started for thirteen of those seasons. The Chargers have a feature back in Melvin Gordon and a star receiver in Keenan Allen. When Rivers took over the quarterback job from Drew Brees, they had an elite defense.
The Chargers are now looking to find the final pieces of the puzzle to get back into the playoffs. They finished the 2017 season 9-7 and are looking to make one final run with Rivers as their quarterback. Da’Ron Payne is the guy to take at number 17.
Payne is a winner from the Alabama Crimson Tide dynasty. He measured 6-foot-2 and 311 pounds. Payne ran a 4.95 in the 40-yard dash which is a sub-5 at over 300 pounds. Payne had 53 tackles, a sack, and even an interception in 2017 for the Tide.
Needs: OL, CB, DE
The Seattle Seahawks need a defensive end to replace Michael Bennett after a trade with the Patriots and could bolster their defensive backfield. However, they Seahawks are going to go with the unsexy pick of Iowa center James Daniels.
Daniels will help secure their offensive line woes and take care of Russell Wilson. The Seahawks offensive line hasn’t been the same since they traded Max Unger for Jimmy Graham. Daniels will fill in that role and hopefully get the Seattle offense back on track.
Pete Carroll hasn’t had a losing season since 2011, his second year in Seattle. The Seahawks have benefitted from solid draft selections that have built the base for their defense while adding a franchise quarterback in Wilson. Seattle will also go after Shaquem Griffin, Shaquille’s twin brother, as a rush end.
Needs: WR, DT, LB
The Dallas Cowboys are a strange franchise. They’re coming off what has to be an NFL record amount of 9-7 seasons in 2017. The Cowboys have their franchise quarterback in Dak Prescott and running back in Ezekiel Elliot. Dallas needs to get their defense back in order, which was the forefront of their three Super Bowl titles back in the 1990’s.
Jimmy Johnson (or Jerry Jones, depending on who you believe) built the Cowboys with defense and the big three of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. But that was under a legendary coach and in the pre-free agency era.
Rashaan Evans is the linebacker that the Cowboys need. Evans is 6-foot-3 and 233 pounds. Evans didn’t run the 40yard dash but did do other field drills. He jumped 30 inches in the vertical and 116 inches in the broad jump. Evans’ 4.36 in the 20-yard shuttle is pretty stellar for a linebacker of his size. The Cowboys do have Demarcus Lawrence and Sean Lee but could bolster their defense with the Crimson Tide’s Evans.
Need: DE, LB, OG
The Detroit Lions are another of the NFL’s many 9-7 franchises in 2017. The Lions’ Matt Stafford threw for over 4,000 yards and had two 1,000 yard receivers but only had 552 rushing yards and 3.3 yard per carry from their starting running back Ameer Abdullah.
Detroit has to get a run game going. The Lions have moved on to another head football coach- this time in former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Patricia will assume he can fix the Lions defense with who they have on the roster, but he’ll look to improve the offense for Stafford and show good faith.
Isaiah Wynn is a 6-foot-3, 313 pound offensive guard from the Georgia Bulldogs. Wynn didn’t run at the combine but he did get measured. Wynn is ranked an “instant starter” by NFL.com and should step right in on the Lions’ offensive line.
If the offense can stay clicking then the defense will improve under Patricia by default. The Lions have to get into the NFC Championship Game eventually and hopefully Patricia can take them there, although the Patriot Way hasn’t worked in the past.
Needs: QB, OL, DT
Lamar Jackson, and in this case the Bills, will be under heavy scrutiny from the people who think Jackson is a wide receiver. The quarterback threw for 9,043 yards in three seasons tacking on 69 touchdowns against ACC competition. Jackson averaged 8.3 yards per passing attempt which is better than Josh Rosen and Josh Allen. He also ran for 4,132 and 50 touchdowns in his career at Louisville.
Jackson is a quarterback and he will remain a quarterback, ofr the time being. The Bills will need a mobile quarterback unless they can miraculously learn to protect Jackson.
Buffalo is going all on on Jackson. With Tyrod Taylor now a Cleveland Brown, the only other viable option on the roster is former Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman. The Bills already have LeSean McCoy and need to get their franchise quarterback situation in order. The last time the Bills had a long-term answer at quarterback was with Hall of Famer Jim Kelly in the 1990’s.
Needs: QB, OL, DT
The Bills are back on the clock and will need to draft an offensive lineman to protect Lamar Jackson and open lanes for Shady McCoy to run through. That player is UCLA’s super athletic offensive tackle Kolton Miller.
Miller ran an impressive 4.95 in the 40-yard dash at 6-foot-9 and 309 pounds. No, offensive linemen don’t run 40 yards very often, however, it shows his athleticism and dedication to the biggest job interview of his life. Buffalo will load up on offense early and then start drafting defense in the later rounds.
Miller will make a solid bookend with Cordy Glenn, the tackle already on the roster. If Buffalo can find a way to improve from 9-7 the Bills Mafia will love Sean McDermott. When the Bills had their elite teams in the 90’s they were led by great pass protection, Hall of Fame caliber skill guys, and an athletic and heady quarterback. With Jackson and Miller maybe the Bills can get back to the Super Bowl again.
Needs: LB, CB, Edge
Josh Jackson‘s stock dropped with his 4.56 in the 40-yard dash as other defensive backs flashed their sub 4.5 40’s. However, he’s 6-foot-1 and 192 pounds and tested well in other areas. Jackson showed explosiveness and power in the broad jump with an impressive 123 inches jump. He added a 38 inch leap in the vertical jump too.
Jackson’s 4.03 20-yard shuttle proved he has the hips and change of direction. His straight line speed was just a little off compared to Denzel Ward. Jackson will be a steal at the 23rd overall position for the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams are set on offense with Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Tavon Austin and Sammy Watkins. Millennial head football coach Sean McVay can now focus on improving the defense. Jackson is the first key, and then drafting a pass rusher and a linebacker will fill out the Rams needs on the defensive side of the football. The Rams have elite defensive tackle Aaron Donald but could use some depth around him and linebacker Alec Ogletree.
Needs: OL, WR, DB
The Carolina Panthers have holes on their roster and need to fill them in order to get back to the Super Bowl. The Panthers are going with Christian McCaffrey as their feature back and need to add wide receivers for Cam Newton to be able to succeed. The offensive line could also use some padding as Newton was sacked 35 times in 2017. Carolina also failed to have a 1,000 yard rusher.
With all that said, the Panthers will start on the defensive side of the football in the 2018 NFL Draft by selecting Derwin James. James, the safety out of Florida State, missed most of 2016 with an injury but bounced back well in 2017. He also tested well at the combine measuring in at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds while running a 4.47 in the 40.
James added elite vertical jump and broad jump numbers measuring 40 inches and 13 inches, respectively. The only reason James has fallen to 24 in my mock is because many teams will be drafting based on need and around ten franchises need a quarterback in the 2018 draft. I can’t see Ron Rivera passing up a safety that posted elite numbers at the combine.
Needs: OG, Edge, CB
The Tennessee Titans will need to make a concerted effort to keep Marcus Mariota healthy and running their offense in Tennessee. Will Hernandez, the guard from UTEP, is 6-foot-2 and348 pounds and tested well at the combine.
Hernandez is another highly regarded offensive guard in the 2018 NFL Draft class. He will have talent to open holes for in Mariota and Derek Henry. After drafting an offensive guard in the first round, look for the Titans to switch to the defensive side of the ball.
Tennessee was another of the NFL’s many 9-7 franchises in 2017. With so much parity in the league teams can either backslide to 6-10 type records or improve to 10-6 and cement their playoff positioning. The Titans fired Mike Mularkey, an offensive coach, and hired Mike Vrabel, a defensive-minded coach. Vrabel will want to improve the defense via the draft much like his Patriots did back in his Super Bowl winning playing days.
Needs: OG, DL, WR
The Atlanta Falcons are in a loaded NFC South division where finishing 10-6 puts you in third place. The Falcons have their franchise quarterback in Matt Ryan, and tailback in Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Wide Receiver Julio Jones is another star in the NFL on the Falcons roster.
The defense is Dan Quinn’s specialty and the Falcons could use a playmaker at defensive tackle. That playmaker will be University of Florida defensive tackle Taven Bryan. Bryan has had some great defensive coaching at Florida and that won’t change in Atlanta.
Bryan measured in at 6-foot-4 and 291 pounds. He ran a 4.98 in the 40-yard dash, and a 4.48 20-yard shuttle which is impressive at 290 plus pounds. Bryan also jumped 35 inches in the vertical and 119 inches in the broad jump while putting up 30 bench reps at 225 pounds.
While he doesn’t have the eye-popping stats of Miami’s RJ McIntosh or others that will be drafted behind him, this is a pick based on his pro potential, which remains very high.
Needs: TE, WR, QB
It’s hard to image the New Orleans Saints in such dire need of offensive talent but with Drew Brees nearing the end of his career and the trades of Brandin Cooks and Jimmy Graham the Saints need to reload for Brees’ final run at the Super Bowl.
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Sean Payton will love the measurables of Mike Gesicki, the Nittany Lions tight end. Gesicki is 6-foot-5 and 247 pounds. He put up insane numbers at the combine with a 41.5 inch vertical jump, 129 inch broad jump and a 4.54 40-yard dash.
A basketball and volleyball star, Gesicki also ran a 4.1 20-yard shuttle and put up 22 bench press reps at 225 pounds. He’s an all around physical specimen and the Saints need a new Jimmy Graham for Brees to connect with.
Gesicki isn’t a first rounder on many draft boards but I see him as a day one selection to a team like the Saints that are in need of a weapon with his abilities. In his four-year career at Penn State, Gesicki caught 15 touchdowns and averaged 11.5 yards per reception. Those aren’t eye-popping numbers but they aren’t shabby either. Sean Payton will find numerous ways to get Gesicki the football in the Saints’ offense and Brees would be ecstatic with the pick.
Needs: ILB, QB, S
Leighton Vander Esch is an inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense at the next level. He’s a big body at 6-foot-4 and 256 pounds who can run and jump per the NFL Combine. Vander Esch ran a 4.65 in the 40 which isn’t fantastic for a 4-3 inside linebacker but is less important in a 3-4. He is extremely explosive having jumped 39. inches in the vertical and 124 inches in the broad jump.
Vander Esch also posted a 4.15 20 yard shuttle which shows a quickness and change of direction of a running back which is rare for a defender his size.
The Steelers need a linebacker to replace Ryan Shazier after his injury. Eventually Mike Tomlin will have to replace Ben Roethlisberger, but it won’t be in the first round of the 2018 draft. Instead, the Steelers will bolster their defensive unit and try to find Big Ben’s replacement either in the later rounds or in the 2019 draft. Mason Rudolph, the former Oklahoma State quarterback, actually would make a lot of sense for the Steelers in the second round.
Needs: WR, OG, TE
Connor Williams, the former Texas Longhorns offensive lineman, projects as a tackle/guard combo player which gives him the versatility the Jaguars need on the offensive line. Jacksonville has a top-level defense but needs to build their offense around Blake Bortles and Leonard Fournette.
Williams will be a great addition to the Jaguars and head football coach Doug Marrone‘s offense. He has the size and ability to make him a first rounder, even if his position hasn’t been settled on.
Williams measured in at 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds which is true NFL size. Williams has long arms and the ability to get his hands on a defender and drive them out. He is definitely a better run blocker than a pass blocker and that will probably move him inside to guard where his shorter arms won’t be taken advantage of as much as if he was at tackle.
Needs: OL, DT, CB
Maurice Hurst was sent home from the NFL Combine after being detected of having a heart issue. Hurst measured in at 6-foot-2 and 280 pounds but couldn’t compete in the drills portion.
Hopefully he will have his physical issues worked out by his pro day and be ready to compete. If you’re a competitor, you know how much it had to affect Hurst to not be able to go out and show off his abilities. Hurst will slip from a top 10 or 15 pick down to a late first rounder and the Vikings will grab Hurst at 30th overall.
Minnesota is looking to trade Case Keenum and add picks or players. The Vikings could use offensive line help, as well as cornerback help but Hurst is too big of a prospect to pass up on at 30th. Hurst logged 32 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks in his four-year career in Ann Arbor, MI. If Hurst can sort out his medical condition he has the chance to be a Pro Bowl caliber player in the NFL.
Needs: CB, QB, OT
The Patriots have a lot of needs for a team that narrowly lost the Super Bowl only a year after winning the Super Bowl. New England needs to start preparing for life after Tom Brady, they must improve their offensive line in order to protect Brady, and they need to not only improve their pass rush but add talent to the defensive backfield as well.
New England is going to take a Patriot type of player and Sam Hubbard fits their mold on the defensive line. He logged 30 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks over his three-year career at THE Ohio State University.
Hubbard didn’t run the 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine but he did measure in at 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds. Hubbard scored a 35 inches in the vertical jump, 116 inches in the broad jump and a 4.32 second 20-yard shuttle.
Although Hubbard said he didn’t feel ready to run the 40 or bench press at the combine, he is expected to do both drills at his pro day. Hubbard will make up for not landing Michael Bennett in a trade with the Seahawks.
Needs: LB, WR, RB
Derrius Guice measured in at 5-foot-10 and 212 pounds of knees and elbows with a running style that is reminiscent of Marshawn Lynch. Guice’s pounding running style might shorten his career, and he’s battled injuries in college already, but if the Eagles want to stay on top of the NFL they need a hard nose back to get tough yards.
The former backup to Jacksonville starter Leonard Fournette, Guice ran for 6.5 yards per carry and 29 touchdowns over three-years in Baton Rouge. Guice was clocked at 4.49 in the 40-yard dash and jumped 31.5 inches in the vertical jump.
The Eagles have a few needs coming off of their Super Bowl victory including linebacker and wide receiver. They’ve bolstered their pass rush by trading with the Seahawks for Michael Bennett showing their willingness to keep moving and create a dynasty rather than rest on what they already have. Guice has the size, talent and toughness to make an immediate impact in the NFL on a franchise as well-built as the Eagles.
Next: Building the best college football super team
Guice has super-star potential. Saquon Barkley is the clear-cut No. 1 tailback in this class, but Guice isn’t a bad consolation prize. That’s especially true for the defending Super Bowl Champions whom already have several pieces in the backfield to keep Guice fresh.
***Team needs from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein***