The NFL Draft Combine is in the books, which means we can finally start overreacting to 40 times and vertical-leap stats, and really get down to predicting which prospects will land where.
That’s right — it’s mock-draft season.
This year more than most there is a lack of certainty at the top of the available mocks, as quarterbacks Josh Allen and Sam Darnold, and running back Saquon Barkley are all being listed as guys who could go first off the board when the draft hits on April 27.
To get a clearer read on this year’s group of NFL prospects, we collected six of the most highly regarded mock drafts — NFL.com (Daniel Jeremiah), CBS Sports, USA Today, Bleacher Report, ESPN (Mel Kiper) and Walter Football — and came up with an average draft slot for each player. (Note: If a player wasn’t listed on a mock draft, we assigned him a 33 to make the math work.)
So which prospect has the highest grade across the board(s)? Check the table below to find out.
| NFL | CBS | UT | BR | ESPN | WF | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Saquon Barkley | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2.00 |
| 2. Sam Darnold | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2.83 |
| 3. Josh Allen | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3.33 |
| 4. Bradley Chubb | 3 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4.00 |
| 5. Quenton Nelson | 8 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 6.50 |
| 6. Minkah Fitzpatrick | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 6.67 |
| 7. Josh Rosen | 6 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 6.83 |
| 8. Denzel Ward | 8 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 7.67 |
| 9. Baker Mayfield | 16 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 6 | 11 | 9.50 |
| 10. Tremaine Edmunds | 12 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10.33 |
| 11. Roquan Smith | 11 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 12.33 |
| 12. Derwin James | 7 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 12 | 12.67 |
| 13. Vita Vea | 17 | 19 | 13 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 15.00 |
| 14. Marcus Davenport | 13 | — | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16.67 |
| 15. Da’Ron Payne | 19 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 18.00 |
| 16. Calvin Ridley | 24 | 8 | 21 | 16 | 15 | 29 | 18.83 |
| 17. Joshua Jackson | 23 | 13 | 23 | 10 | 23 | 30 | 20.33 |
| 18. Mike McGlinchey | — | 12 | 17 | 24 | — | 15 | 22.33 |
| 19. Connor Williams | 15 | 30 | 18 | 12 | — | — | 23.50 |
| 20. James Daniels | 25 | 25 | — | 22 | 22 | 17 | 24.00 |
| 21. Isaiah Wynn | — | 18 | — | 19 | 26 | 18 | 24.50 |
| 22. Harold Landry | 31 | 14 | 14 | 23 | — | — | 24.67 |
| 23. Rashaan Evans | 21 | 28 | — | 28 | 19 | 21 | 25.00 |
| 24. Kolton Miller | 18 | 24 | 24 | 32 | — | 25 | 26.00 |
| 25. Mike Hughes | — | — | 30 | 17 | 12 | 31 | 26.00 |
| 26. Will Hernandez | 14 | 22 | — | — | 21 | — | 26.00 |
| 27. Taven Bryan | 20 | 21 | 26 | — | — | 26 | 26.00 |
| 28. Lamar Jackson | 22 | — | 16 | — | — | 27 | 27.33 |
| 29. Jaire Alexander | 10 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 27.67 |
| 30. Leighton Vander Esch | 28 | — | 25 | 25 | 28 | 28 | 27.83 |
| 31. Courtland Sutton | — | — | — | 21 | — | 16 | 28.17 |
| 32. Maurice Hurst | — | 17 | 27 | 30 | — | 32 | 28.67 |
This exercise doesn’t take into account team need, so using it to extrapolate draft order isn’t the soundest plan. That said, we’re obviously going to do it anyway.
Here’s what the first round of the draft would look like if teams went by the consensus ranking above:
1. Cleveland Browns
Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn St.
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 233 lbs
2. New York Giants
Sam Darnold, QB, USC
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 220 lbs
3. Indianapolis Colts
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 233 lbs
4. Cleveland (from Houston)
Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 269 lbs
5. Denver Broncos
Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 329 lbs
6. New York Giants
Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 201 lbs
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 226 lbs
8. Chicago Bears
Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio St.
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 191 lbs
9. San Francisco 49ers
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 215 lbs
10. Oakland Raiders
Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virgina Tech
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 253 lbs
11. Miami Dolphins
Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 236 lbs
12. Cincinnati Bengals
Derwin James, S, Florida St.
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 215 lbs
13. Washington Redskins
Vita Vea, DT, Washington
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 347 lbs
14. Green Bay Packers
Marcus Davenport, OLB, UTSA
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 264 lbs
15. Arizona Cardinals
Da’Ron Payne, DL, Alabama
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 311 lbs
16. Baltimore Ravens
Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 189
17. Los Angeles Chargers
Joshua Jackson, CB, Iowa
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 192 lbs
18. Seattle Seahawks
Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 312 lbs
19. Dallas Cowboys
Connor Williams, OT, Texas
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 320 lbs
20. Detroit Lions
James Daniels, C/OG, Iowa
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 295 lbs
21. Buffalo Bills
Isaiah Wynn, OG, Georgia
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 300 lbs
22. Buffalo (from Kansas City)
Harold Landry, OLB, Boston College
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 252 lbs
23. Los Angeles Rams
Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 234 lbs
24. Tennessee Titans
Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA
Height: 6’9″
Weight: 310 lbs
25. Atlanta Falcons
Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 191 lbs
26. Carolina Panthers
Will Hernandez, OG, Texas-El Paso
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 348 lbs
27. New Orleans Saints
Taven Bryan, DT, Florida
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 291 lbs
28. Pittsburgh Steelers
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 200 lbs
Lamar Jackson (@lj_era8) showing off his accuracy at the #NFLCombine! @UofLfootball
: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/g1Y6w9zRqq
— NFL (@NFL) March 3, 2018
29. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 192 lbs
30. Minnesota Vikings
Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise St.
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 296 lbs
31. New England Patriots
Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 218 lbs
32. Philadelphia Eagles
Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 282 lbs
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