1. Cleveland Browns-Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
2. New York Giants-Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
3. New York Jets-Sam Darnold, QB, USC
4. Cleveland Browns-Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State
5. Denver Broncos-Bradley Chubb, DE, North Carolina State
6. Indianapolis Colts-Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame
7. Buffalo Bills (from Bucs)-Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
8. Chicago Bears-Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia
9. San Francisco 49ers-Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
10. Arizona Cardinals (from Raiders)-Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
11. Miami Dolphins-Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Vita Vea, DT, Washington
13. Washington Redskins-Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama
14. New Orleans Saints (from Packers)-Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA
15. Oakland Raiders-Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA
16. Buffalo Bills (from Ravens)-Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech
17. Los Angeles Chargers-Derwin James, S, Florida State
18. Green Bay Packers (from Seahawks)-Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville
19. Dallas Cowboys-Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
20. Detroit Lions-Frank Ragnow, C/G, Arkansas
21. Cincinnati Bengals-Billy Price, G, Ohio State
22. Tennessee Titans(from Ravens)-Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama
23. New England Patriots-Isaiah Wynn, G/T, Georgia
24. Carolina Panthers-DJ Moore, WR, Maryland
25. Baltimore Ravens-Hayden Hurst, TE, South Carolina
26. Atlanta Falcons-Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
27. Seattle Seahawks-Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State
28. Pittsburgh Steelers-Terrell Edmonds, S, Virginia Tech
29. Jacksonville Jaguars-Taven Bryan, DT, Florida
30. Minnesota Vikings-Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida
31. New England Patriots-Sony Michel, RB, Georgia
32. Baltimore Ravens (from Eagles)-Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
***
Some thoughts on the happenings of the first night of the draft.
The Vikings got Mike Hughes!
Most talking heads, including this one, expected the Vikings to select an offensive linemen. The best of the interior line group, excluding Quenton Nelson, were expected to come off the board over the last third of the first round. A mini-run on the position did start at #20 when the Lions selected Arkansas guard Frank Ragnow. Ohio State C/G Billy Price and Georgia G/T Isaiah Wynn soon followed. All three were linked to the Vikings at some point in the draft evaluation process. Guard wasn't the only need in Minnesota. Cornerback, defensive line depth, linebacker are also needs. They filled the cornerback need first. Hughes and Jaire Alexander topped my list at the position after Ohio State's Denzel Ward. I didn't think that Hughes would make it to #30 so I never really considered him when I thought of the possibility that the Vikings selecting a corner. Of the two, I actually thought that they'd have a better shot at Alexander. I love the kick return skills that Hughes brings.
There were seven trades last night. The Bills, Packers and Ravens were involved in six of those trades. The Bills used the picks obtained in trades last year and earlier this offseason to move up twice. First to get Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen at #7 and then to get Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmonds at #16. The Packers started the night at #14. They traded back to #27 with the Saints. Then they traded up to #18 with the Seahawks to select Louisville corner Jaire Alexander. Look what happens when Ted Thompson is booted from the building.The Ravens danced all over the draft board. They started at #16, traded back to #22 with the Bills, traded further back to #25 with the Titans and selected South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst. To cap the night they traded back into the first round with the Eagles to select Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson at #32.
It's funny how teams are often automatically praised when they bounce around the draft. Sometimes the movement is shrewd. Sometimes it might be done because the team is thwarted in their selection of a particular player and they bounce back for lack of a better thing to do. Who knows? I don't. I'm not in that room. I was just getting a little tired of the fawning over the Packers movement last night and I'm going with the theory that they had no idea what they were doing and lucked into Jaire Alexander.
In the hours leading up to the start of the draft the hot rumor was that the Browns were going to select Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield with the first pick. This simply couldn't be since general manager John Dorsey was said to be keeping the identity of the first pick as an absolute secret between him and no one. How could it possibly leak out if he was the only one that knew it?
I got a grand total of two picks right on my final mock draft.
New York Giants-Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
Indianapolis Colts-Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame
That's about par for the course for me.
A lot of Vikings beat writers and fans were saying that general manager Rick Spielman wasn't being entirely truthful when he said earlier this week that they weren't necessarily "locked into" taking an offensive lineman at #30. Why anyone would expect a GM to be truthful the week of a draft is beyond me. Well, it looks like the Vikings weren't "locked into" taking an offensive lineman at #30 after all.
Speaking of Hughes. In the 52 drafts prior to 2013 the Vikings picked a cornerback in the first round a grand total of once. That was DeWayne Washington in 1994. In the last six drafts the Vikings have selected a cornerback in the first round three times. Xavier Rhodes (2013), Trae Waynes (2015), and now Mike Hughes. It's nice to see the Vikings finally emphasizing the position.
A few surprises.
Washington Redskins-Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama
This pick surprised me simply because the Redskins took a similar sort of player last year in Payne's former and now current teammate Jonathan Allen. I thought that Florida State safety Derwin James would be the pick.
Los Angeles Chargers-Derwin James, S, Florida State
If James to the Chargers at #17 isn't the steal of the first round I don't what pick is. Despite being a top-10 talent there was some pre-draft chatter that James could drop out of that range. Each time that he wasn't the pick after the tenth pick was a surprise.
Seattle Seahawks-Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State
It's not so much that I'm surprised Penny went in the first round. I'm surprised that he was the second running back selected. I'm surprised that the was selected ahead of Sony Michel in particular.
Pittsburgh Steelers-Terrell Edmonds, S, Virginia Tech
Edmonds is a talented football player but I wasn't expecting him to go in the first round. The cool thing about this pick was that he was at the draft as part of the party of his brother, Tremaine Edmonds. In the opening round of the 2018 NFL Draft the Edmonds family (father Ferrell and sons Tremaine and Terrell) joined the Matthews and Mannings as recent football-playing families.
It's on to Day 2.
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