2018 NFL Draft results: Round 1 picks, live blog, news, highlights

Oh, hello. Welcome to our running live stream of the 2018 NFL Draft. Across the site we’re going to be focusing on what the New York Giants did and didn’t do with the second overall pick. This space below is going to be for just about everything else that happens during Round 1. We’ll give some thoughts, share some tweets, analyze trades, post some GIFs, whatever else there might be as we watch the first round together.

If you’re just here for results, we’ll have an updated table at the bottom of the page with all the picks as they come in, but hopefully you’ll stay for everything else we have going on tonight. Refresh this page to update the results and the live blog as the night goes on.

Feel free to talk amongst yourself in the comments. If you have a specific question you’d like answered from me here, Twitter is probably your best route @DanPizzuta. So with all that out of the way, let’s sit back, relax, and enjoy one of the best nights of the football year.

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Live Blog Coverage

11:45: Alright, we made it through. A lot of action tonight. Eight trades including Martavis Bryant to Oakland. We started with a surprise quarterback and ended with a surprise quarterback. I’m going to have a more concise wrap up ready for tomorrow morning with some winners and losers of the first round. There’s also a lot of good stuff already out on the site centering around the Saquon Barkley pick. For those of you who hung around all night and watched my type many thoughts, thank you. We’re not done yet, though, Still two more long days of the draft ahead.

11:37: Lamar Jackson can flat out play. Don’t let anyone tell you he’s not developed as a passer. He can make plays no other quarterback in this class could dream of making. He should have been drafted earlier, but what a way to end the night.

11:34: There it is! Baltimore trades up to take Lamar Jackson at 32 and get a fifth-year option. Right now Jackson is a better quarterback than Joe Flacco. This is going to be fun and the Ravens are going to be happy with what they did tonight. They’re set up for the future at quarterback.

11:31: Someone needs to trade up and take Lamar Jackson here. It would be insane if he’s not a first-round pick.

11:29: Huh. New England has been able to pull running backs out of nowhere and make them productive, so using a first-round pick on one is a 180 from their typical philosophy. Michel is a one-cut homerun hitter, so the Patriots are definitely going to bank on that, but this still feels like a weird pick for this team.

11:24: Minnesota has taken a lot of swings at trying to find a No. 2 cornerback to put across from Xavier Rhodes. They’ve spent high picks on Mackenzie Alexander and Trae Waynes, neither of whom really stood out. Though the Vikings were fifth in DVOA against No. 2 receivers last season while they were ninth against No. 1’s with Rhodes mostly shadowing the top target. Mike Hughes gives Minnesota another option to take over on the outside and gives a little more depth in that secondary.

11:19: Taven Bryan is another athletic freak who has little idea what he’s doing on a given play. That’s not going to matter as much when he’s on a line with Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue and the rest of that defensive line. Just throw Bryan in there, hope he does something athletic and that’s all that defense needs to wreak havoc on every offense in the league. That’s about as great a landing spot as Bryan could hope.

11:11: Wow was it great to see Ryan Shazier walking out to the podium. That’s incredible. Early reports after that hit he took were not great. Having him able to walk out is such an encouraging sign.

11:10: Penny should help in a variety of areas, though. He’s getting credit for leading college football in rushing last season, but he was also a productive pass catcher when needed, which should be more important in the modern game.

11:07: Wow, this might be the shock of the night. Rashaad Penny is another guy I like, but not sure I would take him this early. The Seahawks run game has been a mess since the last good Marshawn Lynch season, but that’s another thing that maybe could have been fixed with an upgraded offensive line instead of a premium pick on a running back.

11:01: We’re really seeing how afraid the NFL can be of something different. Lamar Jackson has the potential to be great, he just does it in a way that isn’t typical of the normal quarterback. It wouldn’t be that hard to fit him into a system or a system to him. He already played with pro concepts in Louisville. I mean come on, Bobby Petrino was his head coach. Jackson should have been selected by now, but maybe this will also help him fall to a better team that will actually be confident in how to use him instead of being scared of what he might not be able to do.

10:58: Hmm, back-to-back questionable picks. Mohamed Sanu isn’t a bad No. 2 receiver. Not sure the Falcons really needed to use this pick on that position. He’s a good route runner, which will be a plus with Matt Ryan, but it feels like Atlanta could have upgraded elsewhere and went this direction in a later round.

10:53: Hayden Hurst might be the third best tight end in this draft. He’s getting bumped up because of his blocking, but really that’s just not the most important job of a tight end anymore. Mike Gesicki and even Ian Thomas would give more to the passing game than Hurst. Baltimore did some good getting future draft picks, but the actual selection leaves a little to be desired.

10:46: There’s a lack of “No. 1” type wide receivers here, but D.J. Moore knows how to be a focal point of an offense. Last year at Maryland, he saw a 43.6 percent target share (highest among this class) and quarterbacks threw for 4.86 yards per attempt when not throwing to him.

10:39: Isiah Wynn is such a smart pick here. He has the ability to play both tackle and guard. A lot of people project him as a guard, but he was announced as a tackle by Goodell, so the Patriots could be giving him a try there first. It’s a solid shot to take. If he can’t handle it, he’ll be a great guard at the next level. Offensive line was the clear weakness on the New England roster and this is a nice fit somewhere on that line.

10:35: Lamar Jackson would be so much fun to New England with this pick, but if that match does happen, we’ll probably have to wait for the Pats’ second first-round pick.

10:32: Titans trade up for linebacker Rashaan Evans. Titans needed help at linebacker whether it was inside or at the edge where their top two guys are over 30 years old. Evans isn’t a pass rusher, but he can give some help there, so this is the best of both worlds for Tennessee.

10:25: What a sad consolation pick for the Bengals. I’m sure Price was No. 2 on their board, but I’m sure they really had their sights set on Ragnow with him that close.

10:20: This is a point where it really helps not to have leaks in the building. Word all week is that the Cincinnati Bengals loved Frank Ragnow and that was going to be the pick. Well, Detroit just took him one spot in front of them.

10:14: Leighton Vander Esch makes a lot of sense for Dallas. They get an athletic linebacker to pair with Sean Lee when healthy and someone who can man the middle of the defense on his own when Lee isn’t on the field.

10:12: Steelers and Raiders trying to upstage the Cowboys’ pick. Pittsburgh has traded Martavis Bryant to Oakland.

10:06: Cowboys now on the clock.

10:05: Green Bay’s defense was set to improve just by getting rid of Dom Capers as coordinator, but a corner like Jaire Alexander is going to help quite a but too.

9:58: The Chargers are getting who I consider to be the best defensive player in this draft. Derwin James is 6’1”, super athletic, and can play all over the secondary. He can line up in the slot, at deep safety, outside, or as a moneybacker. He has the instincts to make plays wherever he lines up, too.

9:56: Thank you, Chargers.

9:53: Someone pick Derwin James, please.

9:50: Bills trade up again, this time to 16. Buffalo has given up 1.64 and 1.50 on the dollar in their two trades tonight. Tremaine Edmunds is the pick. He’s young and good, but man this Bills offense is not going to be good.

9:45: Kolton Miller is a physical freak. He’s in the 99th percentile of SPARQ. But former Giants offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz has noted Miller has a false step in pass protection that’s going to be hard to fix against NFL rushers. No one should have any faith in offensive line coach Tom Cable to fix that.

9:41: Davenport disrupts in a lot of ways. He can get in the backfield easily, and even though he’s still raw, he has enough awareness to impact plays when he can’t get to the quarterback. He had four passes defensed last season.

9:40: Wow, it’s for Marcus Davenport. Whew, I like Davenport, but I don’t know if I like Davenport that much.

9:36: We have another trade and this one is a doozy. Saints trading all the way up from 27 to get to 14 and giving up a 2019 first-round pick in the process.

This has to be for Lamar Jackson, we’ll see.

9:32: My argument against Vea is the same for Da’Ron Payne with Washington. Thought Derwin James would have been a no-brainer for that defense, but they wanted to get another body on the interior of the defensive line that was derailed by injuries last season.

9:25: Vita Vea needs a more consistent pass rush for me to be worth a pick this high. Maybe that matters less when he’ll be lined up next to Gerald McCoy and Jason Pierre-Paul, but if that’s the case why not address that later in the draft?

9:21: Minkah Fitzpatrick gives the type of versatility needed in today’s game. He can play all over, though he mostly manned the slot for Alabama. I prefer Derwin James, who’s a little bigger and more athletic, but not sure a team could go wrong with either. Also, it’s never a bad move to trust a defensive back who played under Nick Saban. No one gets taught the position better.

9:17: Rosen excels off play-action. Has the anticipation to lull the defense in and take advantage of the coverage. That’s going to work really well with Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson.

9:14: Need to trade up aside, this is the best case scenario for the Cardinals. Josh Rosen is the most ready to play quarterback in this draft. He’ll be successful there for a while.

9:11: We have another trade, likely for a quarterback.

By the Approximate Value chart, the Cardinals 1.34 on the dollar to trade up, still much less than the Bills did in their trade up, which was 1.67.

9:08: Derwin James is still on the board. I think he’s the best defensive player in the draft. Someone is getting a steal because of this quarterback madness at the top.

9:07: This is a nice move for the 49ers. Rumors were swirling earlier that Trent Brown was on the trading block. Now Mike McGlinchey can slide into the right side and move over to left tackle whenever Joe Staley calls it a career.

9:01: Roquan Smith is a perfect modern linebacker and the Bears really needed something in the middle of that defense. He’s got the speed to go sideline to sideline and he has the instincts to make the most of that athleticism. He’s the type of player you don’t have to take off the field in passing situations.

8:57: There’s definitely accuracy concerns with Allen. Every statistical qualifier suggests he’s going to have to be a massive outlier to be successful in the NFL. What’s really worrisome is his processing in the pocket. There’s times when he just doesn’t process and it looks worse than any inaccurate pass or interception. This is something Mike Glennon does. It’s not what you want in a first-round pick you traded up for.

8:55: Buffalo’s trade up to seventh overall is for Josh Allen and man, that’s a tough pick to make with Josh Rosen still available.

8:49: We have our first trade

8:48: Colts come out a big winner of the night. They traded back with the Jets knowing they didn’t need a quarterback and they get arguably the best player in the draft to fall to them sixth overall. Andrew Luck has to be elated with a dominant offensive lineman in front of him. Quenton Nelson is a monster in the run game, but he’s also a great pass protector too.

8:44: Denver gets lucky by staying and Cleveland surprising with the Ward pick. Chubb might not be a dominant No. 1 guy, but he doesn’t have to be with Von Miller on the roster. 10 sacks and at least 20 tackle for loss in each of the past two seasons.

8:37: Wow, our first real big shock of the night. Maybe it shouldn’t be. Ward is a great corner and Chubb is a really good pass rusher. Possible the Browns are happy with Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah as a pass rush. Their corners are Jamar Taylor and Brien Boddy-Calhoun, so yea, a No. 1 corner was a bit of a need.

8:34: The Browns are on the clock and they can either get a good pass rusher in Bradley Chubb or get a trade haul the Giants probably could have gotten for No. 2

8:30: This worked out perfectly for the Jets. They made a blind trade up for a quarterback and they got the second one off the board and probably their first choice. Good for them being aggressive and making the move.

8:26: Saquon Barkley might be good, but I’m just not a fan of the process it took to get there. Running back just shouldn’t be valued that highly and there were multiple trade offers on the table. Dave Gettleman said as much in his press conference and there was the earlier report that Denver was making a play for No. 2. The best move for the future of the team would have been to get more picks and still get an impact player. I just don’t agree with this process at all.

8:22: Glad the Giants made the right move and picked the quarterback of the future.

8:21: Ok, so the Giants didn’t waste much time. This pick is in and it’s Saquon Barkley.

8:19: There’s been a lot written on this site about Baker Mayfield. He was Chris’s QB1 and I was a big fan too. Here’s what I wrote about him back in February.

8:17: Baker Mayfield is statistically the best quarterback in this draft. The pick makes complete sense. At the same time, it’s super surprising the Browns went there.

8:15: Cleveland is taking the full amount of time for a pick they’ve known about forever. It’s going to be a long night.

8:10: So by the poll, We’re rolling with NFL Network/FOX broadcast. If ESPN gets more interesting, someone please let me know.

8:07: The Cleveland Browns are on the clock. What are the odds Hue Jackson still hasn’t been told who this pick is going to be?

8:05: The NFL attempted to send Goodell up with three Cowboys to stop the booing and predictably it did not go as planned. Good start.

8:00: HERE WE GO. Going to be honest, it’s a bit of a let down of a start just from a production standpoint. The NFL takes itself too seriously. They should go full WrestleMania at the start of the show.

7:45: On that note, what the Giants do and what we hope they do will probably set the tone for the rest of the night and the rest of this blog, so what are we hoping they do?

7:43: The goal here is going to be to cover everything happening tonight. All the analysis that will Giants specific is going to be covered elsewhere. Still, there’s going to be some Giant-focused content here too, especially when passing along tweets like this...

7:35: It’s less than a half hour until the draft starts and we still don’t have confirmation about who the first pick of the draft will be. That’s pretty crazy. Because of that we don’t really know what’s going to happen at No. 2 and that makes the rest of the round a complete question mark. We haven’t had this type of mystery surrounding the top of the draft in quite some time. It should be a fun viewing experience.

7:30: Let’s start with a poll. Where is everyone watching?

I’ll turn on whatever broadcast most people are watching to be on the same page of the majority here and share some thoughts on what’s happening on the TV that’s not just the picks.

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