Countless mock drafts are out, including Sporting News’ mocks from Vinnie Iyer and Eric Galko. It’s impossible to predict everything correctly, but we want the entertainment value.
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Sporting News looks at a six-pick sequence for the first hour of the draft that would break the internet again, again and again.
Six picks that would shake up NFL Draft
1. Browns take Baker Mayfield
The Browns get their quarterback, and they go with Mayfield, the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner. That sets off a three-part chain reaction.
Browns fans who wanted one of the other four quarterbacks lose their mind, and the sect of Ohio State fans that watched Mayfield plant a flag at Ohio Stadium last season rehash that argument again. Twitter makes countless memes with Johnny Manziel next to Mayfield and Post-It notes that read “Baker Mayfield no matter what.” The draft board, which doesn’t anticipate a well-cloaked pick by new GM John Dorsey, is forced to adjust right away.
We still think the Browns will pick between Sam Darnold and Josh Allen here, but a Mayfield selection would set the rest of the first round on fire. Until, of course …
2. Josh Rosen goes No. 2 … to the Patriots
Could Bill Belichick really pull this off? The Rosen-Patriots connection has been discussed, but the optics of this actually happening would be amazing. Belichick ensures life after Tom Brady goes well by trading up for Rosen, the talented UCLA quarterback who is known for saying exactly what is on his mind. It only adds intrigue to the Robert Kraft-Belichick-Brady triangle.
It would take a lot for New England to pull off this move. Would Rob Gronkowski be involved in the deal? To recap, Giants pass on Barkley, Belichick gets Rosen to back up Brady and Gronk lands in the Big Apple. The upstaged Jets are on the clock now.
MOCK DRAFT 2018:Rosen slides; Bills, Jets take QBs
3. Jets take Josh Allen at No. 3
The Jets wanted Rosen or Mayfield, and this forces their hand to continue the quarterback run. New York can’t leave this spot without a quarterback considering it traded up to get one.
Darnold somehow becomes the fall guy when New York takes Allen, the strong-armed quarterback from Wyoming. It’s met with the same reaction as when New York selected Ken O’Brien in 1983 — or any other Jets first-round pick, for that matter.
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4. Raiders take Saquon Barkley
First-year Raiders coach Jon Gruden wants in on the action, and he doesn’t want the Broncos to land Barkley, so Oakland trades with Cleveland for the No. 4 pick and gets the Penn State running back.
We can hear Gruden now: “This Saquon Barkley, man. I tell you what, he’s going to lead this franchise to bigger and better things. I couldn’t be happier that he’s in the silver and black, I can tell you that.”
The Raiders beef up their running game, and now Broncos VP John Elway is forced to take a long look in the mirror.
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5. Broncos take Sam Darnold
Elway takes a West Coast quarterback who can make all the throws. Darnold, widely considered the No. 1 pick in this draft, somehow falls to the Broncos. Darnold’s talent is enough for Elway to make the call, and it begins a productive relationship in which Denver finally develops the in-house option it wants.
But we have one last surprise for the first 60 minutes or so of the draft.
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6. Bills trade up for Lamar Jackson
The Patriots and Jets both got first-round quarterbacks, so the AFC East-rival Bills and Dolphins get in on the action. The Colts get the better deal from the Bills, who grab 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson. That gives Buffalo its quarterback of the future, one who is capable of winning the starting job in 2018 over AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman.
Could you handle all that before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the clock at No. 7?
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