Jack McCurry’s 2018 NFL Mock Draft 4.0

The NFL Scouting Combine has come and gone and now draft season has kicked into high gear as we are moving towards draft day on April 26th.

All 32 teams are now focusing on Pro Days, pre-draft visits and those all important private workouts.

Let’s dive into my fourth mock draft, I will post another one in a couple weeks after the initial wave of free agency is complete, another one in a month and my final mock draft on April 26th.

Round 1

1.  Cleveland Browns-Sam Darnold, QB, USC: Cleveland can’t afford waiting until the fourth pick to find their franchise quarterback

2. New York Giants-Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State: Giants wait on finding the heir to Eli Manning and take the best player in the draft

3. Indianapolis Colts-Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State: This pick seems to be a lock around the NFL world

4. Cleveland Browns (via Houston)-Minkah Fitzpatrick, FS, Alabama: Cleveland finds a franchise player for the secondary

5. Denver Broncos-Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: John Elway can’t miss on another quarterback prospect

6. New York Jets-Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: Mayfield was made for the bright lights of the Big Apple

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State: Tampa Bay needs to upgrade the secondary and will do so with this Buckeye corner

8. Chicago Bears-Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame: Chicago gets arguably the second best player in the draft to help protect Mitchell Trubisky

9. San Francisco 49ers-Derwin James, S, Florida State: There was rumors at the combine that James could move to corner in the NFL

10. Oakland Raiders-Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia: Oakland needs another playmaker to pair with Kahlil Mack in the front seven.

11. Miami Dolphins-Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: Miami is heading towards replacing Ryan Tannehill at quarterback

12. Cincinnati Bengals-Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech: Edmunds is an explosive athlete at linebacker which Cincinnati could use

13. Washington Redskins-Vita Vea, DT, Washington: Vea is drawing comparisons to Haloti Ngata and would help the Redskins defensive front

14. Green Bay Packers-Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa: the Packers secondary needs some talent and Jackson is a legit talent at cornerback

15. Arizona Cardinals-Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: Wouldn’t shock me if Jackson goes higher than this spot come late April

16. Baltimore Ravens-Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama: Ozzie Newsome’s final draft begins with another Alabama prospect

17. Los Angeles Chargers-Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama: Chargers have some pieces on defense but not enough to be a contender

18. Seattle Seahawks-Harold Landry, DE, Boston College: Michael Bennett could be on the move and Seattle could find his replacement in this talented pass rusher

19. Dallas Cowboys-Da’Ron Payne, DT, Alabama: Payne would add some serious beef into Dallas’ front seven that’s already talented

20. Detroit Lions-Will Hernandez, OG, Texas-El Paso: Detroit looks to keep Matthew Stafford upright on the backside of his career

21. Buffalo Bills-Taven Bryan, DT, Florida: Buffalo needs to upgrade the defensive tackle position

22. Buffalo Bills (via Kansas City)-James Daniels, C, Iowa: Kirk Ferentz called him the best offensive lineman he’s ever coached

23. Los Angeles Rams-Marcus Davenport, DE, Texas-San Antonio: The Rams dealt Robert Quinn to Miami and find their next great pass rusher in Davenport

24. Carolina Panthers-Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama: Another Crimson Tide off the board as Carolina upgrades their secondary

25. Tennessee Titans-Isaiah Wynn, OG, Georgia: Titans could look to upgrade the guard position here with Wynn

26. Atlanta Falcons-Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan: There’s concerns about his heart following the combine but if he checks out, he’s a first round talent

27. New Orleans Saints-Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State: Saints have been missing something at the tight end spot since trading Jimmy Graham

28. Pittsburgh Steelers-Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State: Unfortunately the Steelers need to look for a new middle linebacker after Ryan Shazier’s injury

29. Jacksonville Jaguars-Deon Cain, WR, Clemson: With potentially losing Allen Robinson in free agency, Jacksonville goes wide receiver here

30. Minnesota Vikings-Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame: Minnesota is looking like they’ll get Kirk Cousins so they’ll need to protect him upfront

31. New England Patriots-Carlton Davis, CB, Auburn: New England’s secondary needs some fresh faces especially with Malcolm Butler on the way out

32. Philadelphia Eagles-Derrius Guice, RB, LSU: With LeGarrett Blount becoming a free agent and Jay Ajayi’s knees a concern, the Super Bowl champions get a talented running back for their offense

Round 2

33. Cleveland Browns-Sony Michel, RB, Georgia: Cleveland grabs a very talented running back to pair with Darnold in the backfield

34. New York Giants-Connor Williams, OT, Texas: Ereck Flowers has been a disaster for them so Giants look to Williams to hopefully protect Eli Manning

35. Cleveland Browns (via Houston)-Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU: Cleveland gets another vertical threat in the passing game opposite Josh Gordon