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What to look for in the 2018 NFL Draft

Posted at 10:29 PM, Apr 25, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-25 22:29:16-04

The NFL Draft begins on Thursday, and this year's NFL Draft could contain one of the deepest pool of quarterbacks in Draft history. 

According to most NFL Draft experts, five college quarterbacks will likely be selected in the first round on Thursday. The group includes USC's Sam Darnold, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, Wyoming's Josh Allen, UCLA's Josh Rosen and Louisville's Lamar Jackson. 

The first team to pick on Thursday is Cleveland, who likely will select one of the five quarterbacks. Darnold and Mayfield are the leading candidates to be selected first overall, but Allen's stock has risen, and if he isn't selected by the Browns, he will likely still be a Top 10 draft choice. 

Here is what to look for this weekend:

The basics

The NFL Draft is being held in Dallas' AT&T Stadium. The first round will be Thursday, beginning at 8 p.m. Each teach will have 10 minutes to make a selection during the first round. Friday will have round Nos. 2 and 3, and Saturday will have round Nos. 3-7. 

Teams will have seven minutes per selection on Friday, and five minutes per selection in rounds 3-6, and four minutes per pick in the final round. 

Who will attend?

All teams will send a small delegation to the draft site, which sometimes will include GMs, coaches, former players and team owners. Those delegations are in direct contact with team personnel at the team's home office, where scouts and coaches can freely deliberate options. 

Also, a small number of players are invited. This year, 22 players were officially invited to the draft. Those players will get to go on stage when their name is called, and be presented with a jersey, and meet with the media for interviews. 

Who should my team pick?

In the first-round, unless it is a future franchise quarterback, a player who will have an immediate and noticeable impact. In the next few rounds, these players should hopefully compete for starting jobs as rookies. In the later rounds, teams pick players to round out rosters, and potentially compete for starting job. 

2018 NFL Draft order

Round 1:

  1. Cleveland Browns
  2. New York Giants
  3. New York Jets (from Indianapolis Colts)
  4. Cleveland Browns (from Houston Texans)
  5. Denver Broncos
  6. Indianapolis Colts (from New York Jets)
  7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  8. Chicago Bears
  9. San Francisco 49ers
  10. Oakland Raiders
  11. Miami Dolphins
  12. Buffalo Bills (from Cincinnati Bengals)
  13. Washington Redskins
  14. Green Bay Packers
  15. Arizona Cardinals
  16. Baltimore Ravens
  17. Los Angeles Chargers
  18. Seattle Seahawks
  19. Dallas Cowboys
  20. Detroit Lions
  21. Cincinnati Bengals (from Buffalo Bills)
  22. Buffalo Bills (from Kansas City Chiefs)
  23. New England Patriots (from Los Angeles Rams)
  24. Carolina Panthers
  25. Tennessee Titans
  26. Atlanta Falcons
  27. New Orleans Saints
  28. Pittsburgh Steelers
  29. Jacksonville Jaguars
  30. Minnesota Vikings
  31. New England Patriots
  32. Philadelphia Eagles