NFL Draft 2018: Live Blog

11:40:

That is it for tonight. Back at it tomorrow.

11:35:

The Ravens collected some capital earlier and now they move back into the first round via trade with the Eagles. The Ravens use that pick to Lamar Jackson from Louisville. Ozzie Newsome is officially done making first round picks. The first two he made are in the Hall of Fame. What will become of Jackson?

FUN FACT: Jackson played two years of varsity football in high school at Boynton Beach High School.

11:30:

The Patriots pick Sony Michel, RB from Georgia. The Patriots now have Michel, Rex Burkhead, James White, Jeremy Hill, and Mike Gillislee. That is a crowded backfield.

FUN FACT: Michel averaged 7.0 YPC against Alabama.

11:26:

With two picks left, there has been nine players picked from the SEC. That is the most from any conference in any first round ever. Baker Mayfield is still the only player picked from the Big 12. He is the fourth player from Oklahoma to be picked first overall. Only USC and Notre Dame have had more with five.

11:25:

The Vikings select Mike Hughes a CB from Central Florida. I don’t have anything to say about the Vikings. It’s all still too raw.

FUN FACT: Hughes played college football at North Carolina, Garden City Community College, and UCF.

11:20:

The Jaguars pick Taven Bryan a DT from Jacksonville. The Jaguars are loaded at DT so this has to be a BPA pick. He only started one year at Florida. He is raw and has a ton of upside so this is a good situation for him stepping into Jacksonville where he won’t be expected to step in and contribute on day one.

FUN FACT: Bryan is from the state of Wyoming.

11:11:

Ryan Shazier walks out to the podium to make the Steelers first round pick. Wow. The Steelers pick Terrell Edmunds a S from Virginia Tech. Shazier is one strong dude. Unreal.

FUN FACT: Terrell and his brother Tremaine were both picked in tonight’s first round.

11:06:

The Seahawks pick the second running back of the draft and it’s Rashaad Penny from San Diego St. This feels like a reach to me by Seattle. I think most experts had Guice and Michel ahead of Penny. That is an interesting pick.

FUN FACT: He rushed for 2,027 yards in 2017 and lead all of Division 1 FBS.

10:57:

The Falcons waste very little time to select Calvin Ridley, WR from Alabama. Ridley pairs very nicely with Julio Jones who also once played WR for Alabama. Ridley is a good player. I wonder if that will fuel the speculation that Julio Jones and the Falcons are having some kind of issue.

FUN FACT: He has a younger brother named Riley who has committed to play at Georgia.

10:55:

The Ravens pick Hayden Hurst the first TE off the board. Hurst is a stud and this is a great pick for a team that started the day at 16. To collect the capitol that they did by moving back twice and still getting a player like Hursrt is a good day at the office for Ozzie Newsome.

FUN FACT: Hurst played two years of professional baseball as a pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

10:45:

Carolina pulls the trigger on a WR and the first one off the board tonight is DJ Moore from Maryland. Moore is another weapon for Newton who really needed some help on the outside. He is small for a WR at only 6-foot. He is built sort of like Brandin Cooks but he isn’t quite as fast. I would have rather had Ridley, but as a Saints fan that is just fine with me.

FUN FACT: Moore was the 2017 Big 10 receiver of the year.

10:37:

The Patriots turn Brandin Cooks into Isaiah Wynn a tackle from Georgia. That is an interesting pick because I thought he was a guard. Wynn is from Georgia. I have to go back and count but it feels like there has been a massive amount of players from the SEC picked tonight.

FUN FACT: According to PFF, Wynn gave up just 4 sacks in 1,1o4 pass-blocking snaps from 2014-2017.

10:32:

The Ravens move back again and allow the Titans to move up and pick Rashaan Evans, LB from Alabama. Evans was one famous for being stolen from Auburn out of Auburn High School by Nick Saban.

FUN FACT: Evans had 11 tackles in the National Championship game.

10:30:

The Bengals become the second team from Ohio to pick a player from Ohio State. They pick center Billy Price. We have a run on centers.

FUN FACT: Coming out of high school, Price was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Year in Ohio by the Associated Press.

10:25:

I just looked up at TVB for the first time since the Capitals choked and I see that Vegas is already up on San Jose 3-0. They are ridiculous.

Back on TVA, the Lions select Frank Ragnow a center from Arkansas. Ragnow is one of not enough people in the world named Frank. Ragnow was the highest rated center in the draft. A solid pick for a Lions team looking to protect Matt Stafford.

FUN FACT: Frank is an avid hunter and fisherman and has a YouTube channel called, Grizzly Man Outdoors.

10:20:

According to Rivals, the star rating of the players drafted so far coming out of high school breaks down like this:

5*-5, 4*-6, 3*-5, 2*-2, 1*-0, 0*-1 (Vander Esch)

10:17:

Wow. The Raiders trade the 75th pick of the draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Martavis Bryant. Interesting.

10:15:

The Cowboys pass on WR and pick Leighton Vander Esch from Boise State. Vander Esch had 141 tackles last year .

FUN FACT: LVE is from Riggins, Idaho a town with a population of 419.

10:10:

This worked out really well for the Cowboys. They released Dez Bryant last moth and they have their choice of any wide receiver who made themselves available for this draft.

10:05:

The Seahawks trade with the Packers who make their second trade of the draft. This seems like a good time to get a weapon for Aaron Rodgers with Jordy Nelson moving on. Instead, the Packers pick Jaire Alexander who Mike Mayock says was the top corner on his board. Alexander played at Louisville and is fired up right now.

FUN FACT: His favorite TV show is Martin and his first jersey number was 7.

10:00:

The Chargers fans have to feel like I did last year when Lattimore fell to the Saints. James is a talented player that is a steal and 17. If the Browns would have picked him at 4 I wouldn’t have blinked. He is that good. Instead, the Chargers get the steal of the draft.

FUN FACT: James didn’t tear his ACL in 2016 like most people think. It was actually a meniscus injury.

9:53:

The Bills moved up to pick Tremaine Edmunds a 19-year old linebacker from Virginia Tech. Edmunds is young, fast, and huge. He will move sideline to sideline as fast as anyone the Bills have ever had at linebacker. I would have thought that the Bills would move up to get Allen a weapon to grow up with but there is nothing wrong with getting a top player on the other side of the ball.

FUN FACT: Tremaine Edmunds was born on May 2, 1998. Yes, 1998. I was still in high school.

9:50:

The Penguins beat the Capitals, 3-2. The Capitals are choking dogs. The Raiders pick Kolton Miller from UCLA. Almost in a blink, the Bills move up again, this time in a trade with the Ravens. This draft moves fast.

FUN FACT: Kolton Miller only allowed two sacks in 2017.

9:40:

The Saints trade their first and fifth round pick and next year’s first round pick to select Marcus Davenport from University of Texas- San Antonio. This feels like a huge package to give up for a player as raw as Davenport is. As a fan, I am glad they didn’t take Lamar Jackson. I wanted a player who can help the team take that last step but is Davenport too raw to be that guy? It feels like a bad trade. In Payton and Loomis I trust.. I guess.

FUN FACT: At 6’7, Davenport is the same height as an average NBA player.

9:34:

The Saints have moved up from 27 to 14. That is a huge jump for a team that doesn’t have a second round pick to offer. There has been talk all day about the Saints agressively working the phone to move up. Some have speculated they were doing so to pick Josh Rosen but he is long gone. My best guess is edge rusher but they just let Kenny Vaccaro walk maybe they think Derwin James is too good to pass up.

9:30:

The Redskins pick Da’Ron Payne and we have a run on defensive tackles. With Zeke Elliot, Saquon Barkley, and Jay Ajaii this pick makes a lot of sense for the Redskins.

FUN FACT: Payne was a five star recruit for Alabama

9:25:

The Buccaneers pick from the Bills original spot and take Vita Vea from Washington and leave Derwin James in the green room. When you play in a division with Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, and Cam Newton you need to take care of the back end of your defense. The Buccaneers already have Gerald McCoy in the middle of their defensive line. As a person asked to give an opinion about the draft, I hate this pick. As a fan of the New Orleans Saints, I love it.

FUN FACT: Vita Vea’s full name is Tevita Tuliakiono Mosese.

9:20:

The Dolphins pick Minkah Fitzpatrick (S) from Alabama. They didn’t get a quarterback but they might not of wanted one anyway. Last year, the Saints would have picked Patrick Mahomes if he was available at 12 and Marshawn Lattimore was off the board. Instead, the Chiefs picked Mahomes and the Saints rushed in their card to pick Lattimore. It worked out for them and a similar situation could have just played out for the Dolphins. Their fans are hoping it works out as well for them as it did for the Saints.

FUN FACT: Fitzpatrick started at Alabama as a true freshman. He returned four of his nine interceptions for a touchdown.

9:15:

The Dolphins are on the clock and the Penguins scored again. The Capitals are choking dogs.

9:08:

The Raiders trade their pick to the Cardinals who jump ahead of the Dolphins to make sure that they can pick Josh Rosen from UCLA. The Cardinals have seen the Carson Palmer era come to an end and are in a perfect position to rebuild around a young quarterback. To do so, the Cardinals give up a third and fifth round pick. The Dolphins can’t be all that happy with how this turned out. Some people think that the Dolphins think that they can win with Ryan Tannehill. They better hope so.

This is moving really fast. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that the Capitals have blown a 2-0 third period lead and are tied with the Penguins with 12:00 left. That’s what the Capitals do. The Capitals are choking dogs.

FUN FACT: Josh Rosen went to St. John Bosco High school in Bellflower, California.

9:06:

The 49ers pick the best tackle in the draft and pick Mike McGlinchey from Notre Dame. McGlinchey is the second offensive lineman from Notre Dame in the first nine picks. This pick makes a lot of sense. Like Indianapolis, the 49ers need to protect the ACL’s of their franchise QB.

FUN FACT: McGlinchey started every game for Notre Dame from 2015-2017. 38 total.

9:00:

The Bears pick Roquan Smith from Georgia and draft the next great linebacker in team history. Anyone who watched the Rose Bowl know how unreal Smith’s sideline to sideline speed is. This is a great fit and a good fit for a team that had lost their identity a bit since Brian Urlacher retired.

FUN FACT: Smith had 11 tackles in the Rose Bowl last year.

8:55:

The Bills make their move and pick Josh Allen from Wyoming. The Bills wanted to move up and not give up two first round picks and they accomplish that by giving Tampa Bay the 12th pick and both of their second round picks tomorrow. The Bills also got a seventh round pick in the deal. I am a little surprised it was Allen and not Rosen but Allen’s strong arm should be an asset in the strong wind at Ralph Wilson Stadium (I still call it that) in Orchard Park, New York.

FUN FACT: This is the third time the Bills have picked a QB in the first round since they took Jim Kelly in 1983.

8:50:

Sure enough. The Colts pick Quenton Nelson. Andrew Luck is erect somewhere and hopefully getting closer to throwing again. Nelson is considered by some to be the best guard to ever be available in the draft. Guards don’t make for sexy picks, they don’t pop a crowd at the draft party, and they don’t sell a lot of jerseys. None of that matters. Nelson was a smart pick.

FUN FACT: Nelson joins Walter Jones, Mike Munchak, Joe Thomas, and Ray Yary as the only collegiate offensive lineman to receive a perfect 9.0 grade of the NFL Draft Report’s grading system.

8:45:

The Broncos have been dangling this pick for days but apparently couldn’t move it. They pick Bradley Chubb. John Elway must have been doing back-flips when the Browns picked Ward and left Chubb sitting there to pair with Von Miller. The Bills have to be thrilled that the Broncos didn’t pick a QB as many had speculated. There were a bunch of pundits who thought that the first four picks in this draft would be QBs and teams would be moving all over the place. So far, we have two quarterbacks and 0 trades. As I type, the Colts have already turned in their card so they wont be trading either. I would be shocked if they didn’t take Q. Nelson.

FUN FACT: The Broncos have picked a linebacker in the first round three times since 2011.

8:40:

The Bills don’t move up to four and that makes sense because it’s doubtful that the Browns are going to take another QB. The Browns basically rush to the podium and pick Denzel Ward from Ohio St. I figured Ward would be the first CB taken in the draft but that feels like a pick to fill a need. I am not a fan of that in this spot. The Browns had a chance to get Chubb or Nelson both of whom were at the top of several draft boards. I would be surprised if anyone had Ward at the top of their board.

FUN FACT: This is the second year in a row that the first CB taken in the draft is from Ohio St. Last year, the New Orleans Saints took Marshawn Lattimore with the 12 pick in the draft.

8:30:

The Jets select Sam Darnold from USC. I am on fire. 3 for 3. The Jets have to be thrilled that Darnold fell to them. They made a blind trade to move up to number three and it paid off in spades. Darnold was may be the one guy they didn’t think they had a chance to get. Darnold turned the ball over a lot at USC but decision making can be coached and you almost never mind your quarterback being aggressive and confident. I am just a jabroni from Buffalo, but if I had the first overall pick in the draft this year I would have picked Darnold. That is a nice result for a Jets team that was due for a break.

FUN FACT: The last time the Jets didn’t pick a defensive player in the first round was when the picked Mark Sanchez in 2009.

8:25:

The Giants don’t trade their pick to the Broncos and pick Saquon Barkley from Penn St. I am 2 for 2. I love Barkley, but the Giants benched their QB last year to start Geno Smith. They just passed on Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, and Josh Allen. This is the curse of being a team from New York. You can’t rebuild you have to reload and Barkley with Manning and Beckham is nice.

FUN FACT: Barkley had five games of 100 yards rushing or more in 2017.

8:20:

The Browns pick Baker Mayfield from the University of Oklahoma. Mayfield is an unbelievable story if you think about it. He was a walk on at Texas Tech. He left and transferred to Oklahoma. He wasn’t going to play football but got talked into walking on again. He finished in the top 5 of the Heisman Trophy voting three times and won the award last year. He led the Sooners to the playoffs two times and competes as hard as anyone I’ve ever watched play college football. Now, the state of Ohio is forced to cheer for the kid who planted the OU flag on the logo at the Horsseshoe.

FUN FACT: Mayfield is the first QB from Oklahoma to be picked first overall since Sam Bradford in 2010.

8:15:

Cleveland had four months and apparently need all ten minutes they are given to make the first pick in the draft. The Penguins just missed on a 2 on 1 and then their goalie made a huge save to keep it 1-0. Waiting, watching the clock, its… 8:19…

7:50 PM:

We are about ten minutes away from the Browns finally being on the clock. The momentum today has picked up for the Browns to take Baker Mayfield. The newest rumor is that the Denver Broncos would like to move up to pick second. I am settling in at home with my dog Colston, daughter Paula, and my wife Tammy. I have the draft on TVA and the Penguins vs. Capitals on TVB. Let’ s do this.

11:00 AM:

Waking up on draft day is a lot like waking up on Christmas morning. The anticipation has been building for weeks and finally it’s time to tear open the presents that Santa left under the tree. Not all Christmas mornings are created equal. I remember one year I knew Santa was going to upgrade my 8-bit Nintendo to a new 16-bit system. I wasn’t sure if it would be a Super Nintendo or a Sega Genesis, but I was going to be happy either way. There was another Christmas that was just before my first communion and I was positive that Santa was going to bring me a suit. It wasn’t as sexy of a gift as a Sega Genesis, but I knew I needed it just as much.

The NFL draft is sort of like Christmas morning. Sometimes the draft is loaded with quarterbacks and other skill position players at the top and other times it’s loaded with offensive or defensive lineman. A good NFL team needs both to succeed, but if we are being honest we all have more fun when our favorite team picks a Super Nintendo and passes on the suit.

Tonight is a video game system draft. The Cleveland Browns will pick a Super Nintendo or a Sega Genisis with the first pick. Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen, and Josh Allen have all been rumored to be a possibility when the Browns make the first pick in tonight’s draft. The Browns have the luxury of picking a suit too if they want when the pick again at number four.

ProPlayerInsiders has 2 reporters live at the draft and I will be following the action from home with you as I blog about all the action right here. You can also follow us on twitter, @playerinsiders.

In the meantime, just for the fun of it, here is my best guess at how the top ten will play out.