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After updating our Big Board, it was time to give you our most recent position rankings. This might seem premature if you don’t follow the Draft year round like we do with our weekly podcast. However, prior to the combine, I find it’s important to have rankings in place before the athletic testing results in Indianapolis skew everything.
Based off over a year of studying these prospects on tape and a full week of observing the top prospects in Mobile, Alabama at the Senior Bowl, here are our top 10 prospects at each position.
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks:
We’ve covered this quarterback class extensively already, between live viewings during the season and our analysis during the Senior Bowl.
At the top, this class is pretty special with five to six prospects who could be in play in the first round and four who should go in the top 15.
There’s a pretty steep drop off after that with spread QBs with limited upside who project as backups at the next level. Meaning if the Broncos or any other team remain in the market this is the year to pounce on the signal callers early.
1. Sam Darnold, QB, USC
2. Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
3. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
4. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
5. Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
6. Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State
7. Mike White, QB, Western Kentucky
8. Luke Falk, QB, Washington State
9. Logan Woodside, QB, Toledo
10. Kyle Lauletta, QB, Richmond
Running backs:
This running back class is absolutely loaded and by far one of the best groups of the 2018 Draft. Expect several more to raise their stocks after impressive showings in Indy, as this class could give the stellar group from 2017 a run for their money. As many as five could go in the first round or early second and the rest of the names on this list should be gone by day two of the draft.
The depth goes beyond the top 10, with 12 backs featured in our top 100 already. A special group.
1. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
2. Ronald Jones II, RB, USC
3. Derrius Guice, RB, LSU
4. Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State
5. Sony Michel, RB, Georgia
6. Kerryon Johnson, RB, Auburn
7. Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
8. Josh Adams, RB, Notre Dame
9. Mark Walton, RB, Miami
10. Kalen Ballage, RB, Arizona State
Wide receivers:
We were spoiled for a while there in 2014 and 2015, as the wide receiver classes were historically great. Since then, things have settled down a little, though the position remains one of the deepest in the entire draft class despite lacking in true star talent at the top.
The combine should help create separation with the prospects who’re living off of their potential, as there’ll be plenty of developmental prospects to gamble on in the later rounds, who could develop into important NFL contributors.
1. Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
2. James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State
3. Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M
4. Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
5. Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis
6. Simmie Cobbs Jr., WR, Indiana
7. Jordan Lasley, WR, UCLA
8. Michael Gallup, WR, Colorado State
9. Auden Tate, WR, Florida State
10. Equanimeous St. Brown, WR, Notre Dame
Tight ends:
This tight end class isn’t exhilarating and might not have the mouth-watering upside that we saw out of the TE group a year ago, but there are lots of solid contributors. The top six can all have an immediate impact, and while the rest of the group comes with less excitement there are some potential gems in there.
1. Mark Andrews, WR/TE, Oklahoma
2. Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State
3. Jaylen Samuels, H-back, North Carolina State
4. Hayden Hurst, TE, South Carolina
5. Troy Fumagalli, TE, Wisconsin
6. Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State
7. Adam Breneman, TE, Massachusetts
8. Ian Thomas, TE, Indiana
9. Jordan Akins, TE, Central Florida
10. Christopher Herndon IV, TE, Miami
Offensive tackles:
This offensive tackle group is quite divisive, with a large variance in the rankings that you’ll find around the web. There are very few sure-fire left tackle prospects, but the group is at least 10 deep with future starters who have enticing starter upside.
1. Connor Williams, OT, Texas
2. Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma
3. Martinas Rankin, OT, Mississippi State
4. Chukwuma Okorafor, OT, Western Michigan
5. Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
6. Tyrell Crosby, OT, Oregon
7. Jamarco Jones, OT, Ohio State
8. Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA
9. Desmond Harrison, OT, West Georgia
10. Brian O’Neil, OT, Pittsburgh
Interior Offensive line:
The interior lineman class is pretty special this season, which was needed as o-line talent has been harder to come by in the past few drafts. The top eight are all immediate-starter-level talents and beyond that, you have some versatile prospects who could present nice value on day two or later.
1. Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame
2. James Daniels, OC, Iowa
3. Isaiah Wynn, OG, Georgia
4. Billy Price, OC/G, Ohio State
5. Will Hernandez, OG, UTEP
6. Braden Smith, OG, Auburn
7. Frank Ragnow, OC, Arkansas
8. Bradley Bozeman, OC, Alabama
9. Mason Cole, OC, Michigan
10. Austin Corbett, OC, Nevada
DEFENSE
Interior Defensive Line:
This is an intriguing group of interior defensive lineman and with the Broncos needing a bit of an upgrade to their inside pass rush, there will be plenty of options. The top six could all go around the top 50. After that, there are some interesting developmental prospects with high ceilings who could go quite high as well—especially if they flash their athletic tools at the combine.
1. Taven Bryan, DL, Florida
2. Vita Vea, DT, Washington
3. Da’Ron Payne, DT, Alabama
4. Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan
5. Tim Settle, NT, Virginia Tech
6. Derrick Nnadi, DT, Florida State
7. Harrison Phillips, DL, Stanford
8. Rasheem Green, DT, USC
9. Andrew Brown, DE, Virginia
10. Trenton Thompson, DT, Georgia
Edge rushers:
The outside pass rushers—ends in a 4-3 or 3-4 outside linebackers—have plenty of juice this year. Though, like the offensive tackles, there’s a bit of variance around the draft world when looking at the position rankings.
Its a solid group with a nice mix of hard-working motor guys and high-upside athletes. Definitely a group to watch out for in Indianapolis.
1. Arden Key, EDGE, LSU
2. Bradley Chubb, DE, North Carolina State
3. Harold Landry, EDGE, Boston College
4. Sam Hubbard, EDGE, Ohio State
5. Hercules Mata’afa, EDGE, Washington State
6. Marcus Davenport, EDGE, UTSA
7. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, OLB/EDGE, Oklahoma
8. Jeff Holland, EDGE, Auburn
9. Trevon Young, EDGE, Louisville
10. Lorenzo Carter, OLB/EDGE, Georgia
Off-ball linebackers:
The youth of this group and upside, especially at the top of our rankings, is extremely enticing. The bottom half of our top 10 is full of solid collegiate producers who promise to be starters at the NFL level sooner rather than later.
With the Broncos choosing to go with low-cost options in the past, it’s unclear if they’ll change their ways and tap into this top 10 crop. However, if they do, they could be set at the position for a long time.
1. Tremaine Edmunds, OLB, Virginia Tech
2. Rashaan Evans, OLB, Alabama
3. Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia
4. Uchenna Nwosu, OLB/EDGE, USC
5. Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
6. Malik Jefferson, OLB, Texas
7. Matthew Thomas, OLB, Florida State
8. Mike McCray, OLB, Michigan
9. Jerome Baker, WLB, Ohio State
10. Dorian O’Daniel, OLB, Clemson
Cornerbacks:
It’s another year of endless depth and high-end talents at the cornerback position, one of the richest groups in this entire class—rivaling the interior O-line and RBs as the best position group of the 2018 draft.
The top six could all be in contention for a first-round pick and the rest will be taken pretty high in day two. There are several more after that who could rise up in Indy and jump into the mix, so stay tuned as this is another headline group that should receive lots of attention at the combine.
1. Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado
2. Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa
3. Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville
4. Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida
5. Carlton Davis, CB, Auburn
6. Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State
7. Tarvarus McFadden, CB, Florida State
8. Donte Jackson, CB, LSU
9. Nick Nelson, CB, Wisconsin
10. Levi Wallace, CB, Alabama
Safeties:
The top three safeties are true studs this year, with an array of versatility and ready-made NFL skills that could make them sub-package aces.
There’s a steep drop off after the first five prospects, but don’t sleep on this class either, as it’s got plenty of reliable collegiate players who should be low-end starters in their early pro careers.
1. Minkah Fitzpatrick, FS/CB, Alabama
2. Derwin James, DB, Florida State
3. Ronnie Harrison, SS, Alabama
4. Marcus Allen, FS, Penn State
5. Van Smith, S, Clemson
6. Jessie Bates, FS, Wake Forest
7. DeShon Elliott, S, Texas
8. Justin Reid, S, Stanford
9. Quin Blanding, FS, Virginia
10. Kyzir White, S, West Virginia