Welcome to Niners Nation's 2018 NFL Draft live blog! We will be providing updates throughout Thursday evening as the draft gets underway. The San Francisco 49ers hold the No. 9 pick. The expected run on quarterbacks opens the door for solid talent to drop to the 49ers, but it could also result in a trade down.
One important rule: No tipping of picks in the comments. ESPN and NFL Network media will not be tweeting picks ahead of the commissioner's announcements, but I believe Jason LaCanfora and others will. Do not post those tweets in here.
We'll have new articles for the 49ers pick(s) and any notable news, but this will serve as our primary spot for general draft discussion. We’ll update the spreadsheet below with each pick and with a brief paragraph of analysis for the pick. It should be a busy evening, so we’ll see how it all shakes out. I do hope for a crazy night, but big talk can often lead to a letdown, so I'm not getting my hopes up too much.
First Round 2018 NFL Draft Results
| Pick | Team | Selection | Pos | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pick | Team | Selection | Pos | Analysis |
| 1 | Cleveland Browns | Baker Mayfield | QB | The Browns have their new yearly quarterback. They have been high on Mayfield as have several other analysts. Perhaps this is the last year they draft a QB for some time. |
| 2 | New York Giants | Saquon Barkley | RB | The Giants now have a dynamic running back, something rarely seen in the backfield during Eli Manning's entire career. |
| 3 | New York Jets | Sam Darnold | QB | The Jets have got themselves a quarterback. A good quarterback. A quarterback who isn't Mark Sanchez. It will be interesting to see how the competition with Teddy Bridgewater shakes out. |
| 4 | Cleveland Browns | Denzel Ward | CB | Because the last time the Browns took a QB (Johnny Manziel) and a DB (Justin Gilbert) it worked out real well. |
| 5 | Denver Broncos | Bradley Chubb | DE | Remember when the Broncos had no pass rush? Of course you don't. The rich get richer, the pass rush gets filthier. |
| 6 | Indianapolis Colts | Quenton Nelson | G | The Colts line couldn't stop a dust particle. Andrew Luck desparately needs protection. This the best player available and the best thing they can do for their quarterback. |
| 7 | Buffalo Bills (trade) | Josh Allen | QB | The Bills have A.J. McCarron and now Allen to compete for a starting spot. Tyrod Taylor is a distant memory. |
| 8 | Chicago Bears | Roquan Smith | LB | Vic Fangio is going to love this guy. He's undersized for a 3-4 defense but if anyone can get the best out of their players, Fangio can. |
| 9 | San Francisco 49ers | Mike McGlinchey | T | The Trent Brown situation remains to be seen. McGlinchey is the best tackle in the draft and a possible heir to Joe Staley. |
| 10 | Arizona Cardinals (trade) | Josh Rosen | QB | WIth Carson Palmer retiring and Sam Bradford almost guarenteed an injury by the halfway point of 2018, the Cardinals needed to get a QB. |
| 11 | Miami Dolphins | Minkah Fitzpatrick | S | Dolphins get a ballhawk they can plug at multiple positions. The question is where his main position will be. |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (trade) | Vita Vea | DT | The Bucs were on the bottom end in sacks and hits for 2018. Vea will help them improve that number. |
| 13 | Washington | Da'Ron Payne | DT | Washington gets a premier run stopper, possibly the most explosive in the draft. |
| 14 | New Orleans Saints (trade) | Marcus Davenport | DE | That's an awful lot for a pass rusher. The Saints better hope he's the next Von Miller. |
| 15 | Oakland Raiders (trade) | Kolton Miller | T | The second best tackle in the draft goes to the Raiders. He's not near as good as McGlinchey. |
| 16 | Buffalo Bills (trade) | Tremaine Edmunds | LB | A pick many thought would be gone in the top 10 goes 16th. The Bills may have given up a lot to get him, but it might be worth it. |
| 17 | Los Angeles Chargers | Derwin James | S | Techincally the first safety off the board (not counting Denzel Ward) James may also be arguably the best safety in the draft. |
| 18 | Green Bay Packers (trade) | Jaire Alexander | CB | The Packers just gave up a 3rd round pick to move up for a slot corner. Let that sink in. |
| 19 | Dallas Cowboys | Leighton Vander Esch | LB | The best linebacker left in the draft now goes to the Cowboys. He's a very disruptive player, but he also has inexperience and a bad neck. Let's see how this turns out. |
| 20 | Detroit Lions | Frank Ragnow | C | Considered the 24th overall ranking, James Daniels was 18. A good ethic and football I.Q., but definitely a bit of a reach. |
| 21 | Cincinnati Bengals | Billy Price | C | Also not the top center in the draft. |
| 22 | Tennessee Titans (trade) | Rashaan Evans | LB | One-year starter that can bring linebacking help. Hopefully his inexperience isn't a detriment. |
| 23 | New England Patriots | Isaiah Wynn | OG/OT | He can play at guard and tackle, and the Patriots need to beef up the line around the aging Tom Brady. Wynn will slot right in either at tackle or guard |
| 24 | Carolina Panthers | D.J. Moore | WR | The Panthers traded Kelvin Benjamin, meaning they needed to find more weapons for Cam Newton. Moore can jump right into the mix. |
| 25 | Baltimore Ravens (trade) | Hayden Hurst | TE | The Ravens have struggled to find options at tight end. Hurst slots right in for what they hope is much of the next decade. |
| 26 | Atlanta Falcons | Calvin Ridley | WR | Man, that's a heck of an addition alongside Julio Jones. A bit of a surprise given needs elsewhere. |
| 27 | Seattle Seahawks | Rashaad Penny | RB | For six games this guy can be insane. He led the NCAA in rushing yards while at San Diego State afterall. This is all until he gets flattened on the field because he has nothing to block in front of him. |
| 28 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Terrell Edmunds | S | The brother of Tremaine, the Steelers have a safety prospect to rebuild the Iron Curtain. |
| 29 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Taven Bryan | DT | Can the Jaguars find more people to go hunt the quarterback over there? |
| 30 | Minnesota Vikings | Mike Hughes | CB | Slot Corner; Xavier Rhodes isn't getting any younger also. |
| 31 | New England Patriots | Sony Michel | RB | A player that the Patriots can use for one game, give 4 touchdowns and then bench two games later. |
| 32 | Baltimore Ravens (trade) | Lamar Jackson | QB | Who is Joe Flacco? |
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