2018 NFL Draft rankings: Bears, Cowboys, Cardinals top the list

Cotton

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2018 NFL Draft rankings: Bears, Cowboys, Cardinals top the list
By Gennaro Filice and Nick Shook NFL.com
Published: May 4, 2018 at 05:50 p.m.

Why provide instant grades on the selections of prospects who have yet to take an NFL snap? Well, you're reading this, aren't you? Considering the makeup of every roster and the factors surrounding each pick, Gennaro Filice and Nick Shook attempted a division-by-division assessment of the 2018 NFL Draft. Click here for those full breakdowns.

Below you'll find a ranking, from 1 to 32, of the 2018 draft classes. Gennaro and Nick decided the final pecking order through a combination of voting and good old-fashioned debate. No punches were thrown.

RANK

1

BEARS: A
» Round 1: (No. 8 overall) Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia.
» Round 2: (No. 39) James Daniels, OL, Iowa; (No. 51) Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis.
» Round 4: (No. 115) Joel Iyiegbuniwe, LB, Western Kentucky.
» Round 5: (No. 145) Bilal Nichols, DL, Delaware.
» Round 6: (No. 181) Kylie Fitts, Edge, Utah.
» Round 7: (No. 224) Javon Wims, WR, Georgia.

This offseason in Chicago's been Mitchapalooza. The franchise has done everything possible to make its second-year quarterback feel comfortable, starting with the hiring of the hottest young offensive mind available (Matt Nagy) and continuing with a splurge on free-agent pass catchers ( Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton). The Bears maintained this game plan in the draft -- well, after No. 8 overall, when they acquired their defensive Mitchell Trubisky, Roquan Smith. (The inside linebacker's a perfect quarterback for Vic Fangio's defense, boasting the versatile skill set and football IQ today's NFL teams crave in second-level defenders.) After that, Ryan Pace went back to pampering his 23-year-old signal-caller. Daniels, an interior O-lineman who spent much of the pre-draft process as a first-round mock mainstay, feels like a steal at No. 39. And Miller instantly become a favorite of anyone who popped in his tape, as a hyper-competitive playmaker who gets absolutely everything out of his 5-11, 201-pound frame. Yeah, life is good these days for "The Pretty Boy Assassin," who's being put in prime position for a breakout sophomore campaign. One note on the Day 3 haul: Nichols was a small-school favorite of Draft Twitter, especially after his fine showing at the East-West Shrine Game. Sleeper potential. With a nice draft-day video.

RANK

2

COWBOYS: A
» Round 1: (No. 19 overall) Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State.
» Round 2: (50) Connor Williams, OL, Texas.
» Round 3: (81) Michael Gallup, WR, Colorado State.
» Round 4: (116) Dorance Armstrong, Edge, Kansas; (137) Dalton Schultz, TE, Stanford.
» Round 5: (171) Mike White, QB, Western Kentucky.
» Round 6: (193) Chris Covington, LB, Indiana; (208) Cedrick Wilson, WR, Boise State.
» Round 7: (236) Bo Scarbrough, RB, Alabama.

Good hosts enjoy their own parties, and the Cowboys certainly did that. (Well, maybe besides all the trolling.) Dallas did a fine job collecting talent at the JerryWorld Jamboree of 2018. Vander Esch is a large, freakish athlete who flies to the football and is quite comfortable in coverage. He'll slot right into the starting lineup, alongside Sean Lee and Jaylon Smith at linebacker. Williams, who grew up in the Dallas suburbs and played his college ball at Texas, apparently is poised to compete for the starting left guard spot, keeping La'el Collins at right tackle. (Though the 'Boys can swap those two if they so desire, as Williams spent his entire stay in Austin as the Longhorns' starting left tackle.) This O-line remains one of the league's deepest and very best. Pro Football Focus darling Michael Gallup can't fill the pass-catching vacuum by himself, but don't be surprised if he contributes steady returns in Year 1. Cedrick Wilson, another PFF favorite, carries some sleeper potential of his own. The cherry on top: Bo Scarbrough in Round 7. Spelling Ezekiel Elliott is a fine role for a 228-pound hammer who needs the kind of runway to get going that Dallas' O-line will provide.

RANK

3

CARDINALS: A
» Round 1: (No. 10 overall) Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA.
» Round 2: (No. 47) Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M.
» Round 3: (No. 97) Mason Cole, C, Michigan.
» Round 4: (No. 134) Chase Edmonds, RB, Fordham.
» Round 6: (No. 182) Chris Campbell, CB, Penn State.
» Round 7: (No. 254) Korey Cunningham, OT, Cincinnati.

Honest admission: Steve Keim locked up an "A" on this assignment the moment he called in Arizona's first pick. Sitting at No. 15 to open the night, the Cardinals appeared to be out of range in the Big Four Quarterback Hunt. But when Rosen made it through the genuinely QB-starved organizations and remained available with Oakland on the clock at No. 10, Keim pounced. After paying a modest price to move up five slots, this transitioning franchise suddenly had a strapping young quarterback to build around. Truthfully, Arizona's draft could've gone off the rails from there, and it still would've been a highly successful weekend. But no, Keim and Co. kept on fortifying the roster under first-year head coach Steve Wilks. With the next two picks, the Cards spoiled their new signal-caller with an explosive slot target (Kirk) and a smart, versatile protector (Cole). Rosen must've gone from "pissed off" to pleased quite swiftly. Now he just has to clear his good name in airport gossip circles.

RANK

4

BRONCOS: A-
» Round 1: (No. 5 overall) Bradley Chubb, DE, N.C. State.
» Round 2: (40) Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU.
» Round 3: (71) Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon; (99) Isaac Yiadom, CB, Boston College.
» Round 4: (106) Josey Jewell, LB, Iowa; (113) DaeSean Hamilton, WR, Penn State.
» Round 5: (156) Troy Fumagalli, TE, Wisconsin.
» Round 6: (183) Sam Jones, C, Arizona State; (217) Keishawn Bierria, LB, Washington.
» Round 7: (226) David Williams, RB, Arkansas.

In taking Chubb fifth overall, Denver got the edge rusher it has missed since the retirement of DeMarcus Ware. At that position, it's quite a haul (at least on paper) for the Broncos, who didn't have to move up to grab a prospect who should be an immediate-impact player. From there, John Elway added a big-bodied receiver (Sutton) in a move that might prove to be prescient, with Demaryius Thomas (30) and Emmanuel Sanders (31) both getting up there in age. Elway wasn't done addressing the offense; in Round 3, he selected Freeman as a back who should contend for the starting job right away. Yiadom might end up being the best pick of this class if he replaces departed veteran Aqib Talib effectively. From there, Elway grabbed a good value in Jewell and found an interior lineman in Jones who very well could man the position for the next decade. Bierria was also a late-round, low-risk find with potentially high upside. Overall, Elway bounced back from a couple of subpar drafts by filling multiple needs.

RANK

5

PACKERS: A-
» Round 1: (No. 18 overall) Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville.
» Round 2: (No. 45) Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa.
» Round 3: (No. 88) Oren Burks, LB, Vanderbilt.
» Round 4: (No. 133) J'Mon Moore, WR, Missouri.
» Round 5: (No. 138) Cole Madison, OL, Washington State; (No. 172) JK Scott, P, Alabama; (No. 174) Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, South Florida.
» Round 6: (No. 207) Equanimeous St. Brown, WR, Notre Dame.
» Round 7: (No. 232) James Looney, DE, Cal; (No. 239) Hunter Bradley, LS, Mississippi State; (No. 248) Kendall Donnerson, Edge, Southeast Missouri State.

Brian Gutekunst's first rodeo went pretty darn well. And while he bounced around the draft board on opening night -- deftly picking up an extra 2019 first-rounder from New Orleans in the process -- the first-year GM eventually seemed to settle into a pretty straightforward game plan: pass defense early, developmental pass catchers late. With their first two picks, the Packers grabbed a pair of corners with fine instincts, supreme ball skills ... and divergent playing styles. Alexander's a feisty, explosive trash talker who excels in press-man coverage. Jackson's long, strong and soft-spoken, having spent most of his time at Iowa in zone defense, clueing the quarterback. In the third round, Green Bay snatched Burks, a hybrid linebacker (and former safety) with the coverage skills Green Bay has seriously lacked at the position of late. On Day 3, the Pack went after a series of skyscraping wideouts: Moore (6-3), Valdes-Scantling (6-4) and St. Brown (6-5) all provide the kind of height that served the departed Jordy Nelson quite well during his tenure in Green Bay.

The rest can be found at: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000931639/article/2018-nfl-draft-rankings-bears-cowboys-cardinals-top-the-list?campaign=tw-articleshare
 

Simpleton

DCC 4Life
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17,414
Yes, we had an awesome draft.

I could nitpick a few of the selections, perhaps with guys I would've slightly preferred, but I loved each of the first 3 picks and a few of the Day 3 guys as well, and there were no true WTF picks aside from the Indiana LB.
 

DLK150

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As always it remains to be seen, but I thought the picks were solid overall. LVE should step right in and the rest of them have a chance to contribute even if they aren't starters from day one. Maybe not White obviously but most of them will at least provide competition for roster spots.
 

ravidubey

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Apr 7, 2013
Messages
20,162
Cowboys did very well with what they had and solved the Switzer/Beasley nonsense to boot. Fantastic.

Wish we had found a way to move up and get Vea, but that’s next years problem.

We’re winning jack shit with Garrett at coach anyways.
 
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