The 2018 NFL Draft produced high drama from the moment it began on Thursday night. It started with the Cleveland Browns taking Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and it ended with the Baltimore Ravens trading back into the first round for Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. Here is a look at five key surprises from the first round of the draft.
5. New Orleans Saints bet on Marcus Davenport
It looked like the Saints were hunting down their future quarterback and heir to Drew Brees when they sent the 27th overall pick, a 2019 first rounder, and their 2018 fifth rounder to the Green Bay Packers for the 14th overall pick. Instead, they rolled the dice on UTSA defensive end Marcus Davenport.
There are a couple issues here. The Saints could have gotten edge help at their position at pick 27 or in the second round. Instead, they moved up for an extremely raw Davenport. There is little doubt that Davenport has the talent to succeed in the NFL, but he will need to be developed. Davenport will have little impact on the Saints in 2018.
However, the Saints do need to find Brees’ replacement. Lamar Jackson would have been a solid pick for the Saints either at 14 or later in the first round. He could have sat behind one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history for a year or two, before taking over the talented Saints. Even if New Orleans didn’t want Jackson, giving up that No. 1 for next year will make it hard for them to find another young prospect to come in behind Brees. Basically, the Saints risked a lot of capital for a project defensive end who could be a boom or bust.
4. Ryan Shazier delivers the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pick
https://twitter.com/barstooltweetss/status/989704618522370048
Few people will ever forget the play that almost left Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier paralyzed. Months later, we saw him walk out to the draft stage to deliver the Steelers’ first round pick. Shazier’s display of courage is a reminder of both dangers of football and the beauty of the drive needed to be successful at it. He will likely never play football again, but seeing him walk out on stage hopefully inspired others to strive against challenges.
3. Denver Broncos take Bradley Chubb
The Denver Broncos must really believe in Case Keenum as their quarterback of the future. While I think that Keenum is a starter in the NFL, it does surprise me that the Broncos passed on both Josh Rosen and Josh Allen. Perhaps the decision is more of an indictment of Allen in particular, who played his college football just a couple hours north in Laramie, Wyoming. The Broncos had plenty of time to study Allen, and they clearly weren’t sold on him.
Meanwhile, they solidified their pass rush with arguably the best defensive player in the draft. Teaming him with Von Miller will scare the nerve out of opposing quarterbacks. The only question remains whether or not the Broncos have enough weapons on offense to compete in the AFC West next year.
2. On to Cleveland
The Browns continued to make surprising decisions by taking Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward with the fourth overall pick. What’s more surprising is that the Browns valued him so much, they chose him over stud defensive end Bradley Chubb. They also stayed put at No. 4 instead of trading down.
Ward was believed to be a late top 10 to even mid-20s first round pick, so it’s possible that he would have been there if the Browns had moved down. However, they saw Ward as a solution to their pass defense problems and took him. Time will tell if Ward will become the shutdown cornerback warranted for such a high pick.
1. Browns take Mayfield first overall
Experts across the league continually mocked either Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen or USC quarterback Sam Darnold to the Browns with the first overall pick. Then, news started leaking right before the draft that Mayfield was in play for the Browns. Taking him is a bold move that carries a ton of risk, which is why it was easy to dismiss the idea. Instead, the Browns went with their gut and took Mayfield.
Hindsight being 20/20, any other movement by the Browns in the first round was hindered by the New York Jets moving up to No. 3. It was no secret across the league that the Jets wanted Mayfield. If the Browns wanted him, they had to take him No. 1 overall. He wouldn’t have been there at No. 4.
Honorable mention: Ravens trade back into first round for Lamar Jackson, Cowboys do not take wide receiver with first pick.
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