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This spring’s upcoming NFL Draft has seen a flurry of trades that has not been seen in awhile. Three teams have traded up to be among the first six teams to select. Because of these trades, it has shaken up the Mock Draft universe. Several in the national press have had to throw out their mocks and start all over. Below are the picks of some of those who have dared to update their picks for Crimson Tide player, plus mine.
| Pick | Team | Bucky Brooks NFL.com | Charles Davis NFL.com | Chad Reuter NFL.com | Tom Fornelli CBS Sports | Vinnie Iyer Sporting News | Mel Kiper ESPN | Albert Breer SI.com | Dan Kadar SBNation | Connor Riley SECCountry | CB969 RollBamaRoll |
| 1 | Cleveland Browns | ||||||||||
| 2 | New York Giants | ||||||||||
| 3 | New York Jets | ||||||||||
| 4 | Cleveland Browns | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | |||||||
| 5 | Denver Broncos | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | |||||||||
| 6 | Indianapolis Colts | ||||||||||
| 7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | ||||||
| 8 | Chicago Bears | ||||||||||
| 9 | San Francisco 49ers | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | |||||||||
| 10 | Oakland Raiders | ||||||||||
| 11 | Miami Dolphins | DA'RON PAYNE | |||||||||
| 12 | Buffalo Bills | ||||||||||
| 13 | Washington Redskins | ||||||||||
| 14 | Green Bay Packers | MINKAH FITZPATRICK | |||||||||
| 15 | Arizona Cardinals | CALVIN RIDLEY | CALVIN RIDLEY | CALVIN RIDLEY | |||||||
| 16 | Baltimore Ravens | CALVIN RIDLEY | CALVIN RIDLEY | CALVIN RIDLEY | CALVIN RIDLEY | ||||||
| 17 | Los Angeles Chargers | DA'RON PAYNE | DA'RON PAYNE | DA'RON PAYNE | DA'RON PAYNE | DA'RON PAYNE | |||||
| 18 | Seattle Seahawks | ||||||||||
| 19 | Dallas Cowboys | CALVIN RIDLEY | CALVIN RIDLEY | CALVIN RIDLEY | RASHAAN EVANS | ||||||
| 20 | Detroit Lions | DA'RON PAYNE | DA'RON PAYNE | ||||||||
| 21 | Cincinnati Bengals | RASHAAN EVANS | |||||||||
| 22 | Buffalo Bills | RASHAAN EVANS | |||||||||
| 23 | Los Angeles Rams | RASHAAN EVANS | |||||||||
| 24 | Carolina Panthers | ||||||||||
| 25 | Tennessee Titans | RASHAAN EVANS | RASHAAN EVANS | ||||||||
| 26 | Atlanta Falcons | DA'RON PAYNE | DA'RON PAYNE | ||||||||
| 27 | New Orleans Saints | ||||||||||
| 28 | Pittsburgh Steelers | RASHAAN EVANS | RASHAAN EVANS | RASHAAN EVANS | |||||||
| 29 | Jacksonville Jaguars | RASHAAN EVANS | |||||||||
| 30 | Minnesota Vikings | ||||||||||
| 31 | New England Patriots | ||||||||||
| 32 | Philadelphia Eagles |
Many NFL teams are desperate for a quarterback including the Browns, Jets, and maybe the Giants with Eli Manning nearing AARP membership eligibility. Because of this mad rush for QBs, possible suitors for some Tide players have fallen back.
MY PICKS
MINKAH FITZPATRICK, #7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Some mockers have Fitzpatrick going #4 to Cleveland but I am not sure if the Browns can resist taking Saquon Barkley at that spot. The Bucs were dreadful on defense last season finishing dead last in the league in both total defense and passing defense. This is a no-brainer to me. Some yucksters want to put FSU’s Derwin James or Ohio State’s Denzel Ward ahead of Minkah but they do not have the versatilty (Ward) or acumen (James) that the Tide team captain has.
CALVIN RIDLEY, #15 Arizona Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald (age 35 by start of the season) will have to retire at some point and when he does, the Cardinals will need someone to take over. They also need a quarterback but the signings of retreads Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon seem to indicate they will tough it out for a year and look to 2019 to pick a field general. If the Cards go another way, the Ravens could/should snap Ridley up at the next pick.
DA’RON PAYNE, #17 Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers have two decent edge rushers in Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram but need some help in the middle. The addition of Payne could make this defensive line elite. If Payne drops, at the very least the Falcons will happily grab him at #26.
RASHAAN EVANS, #28 Pittsburgh Steelers: Others believe that Evans will be gone by the time the Steelers pick. If not, they will certainly close this deal.
RONNIE HARRISON, Second Round: There is a chance the Tide safety could sneak into the back end of Round One (Steelers?). Many teams will be looking for the next Kam Chancellor or the next Keanu Neal. However, he is more likely to be picked early on Day 2.
THE DRAFT
The 2018 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, April 26 and ends on Saturday, April 28. The first night of the draft will feature only the first round, then Friday night will have the second and third rounds. Rounds four through seven will take place on Saturday.
Round 1 coverage starts at 7pm CT Thursday. Round 2 coverage begins at 6pm on Friday, and the fourth round stats at 11am CT on Saturday.
The first three rounds of the draft will be simultaneously broadcast on ESPN, Fox and NFL Network, while the final four rounds will now be simulcast on ABC.