NFL Draft live blog: Day 1

Posted By on April 26, 2018

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield is seen at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday, March 3, 2018, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)

SANTA CLARA — This is the live blog for Day 1 of the NFL Draft. I will update his with information and analysis from Levi’s Stadium.

5:11 The Browns are on the clock. They have to take a quarterback, and none are really worth the first pick. What a bad spot to be in. Good thing the 49ers have their quarterback already.

5:17 The Browns draft quarterback Baker Mayfield from Oklahoma. I respect the Browns front office — John Dorsey, Eliot Wolf and Scot McCloughan — but they got this wrong. They convinced themselves Mayfield is the next Brett Favre, but Mayfield doesn’t Favre’s frame or arm.  Terrible pick.

5:21 The Giants draft running back running Saquon Barkley from Penn State with pick No. 2. This is a good pick. Barkley is the best player in the draft. The Giants might be tough next season and the 49ers will play them Week 10. Could be a tough game.

5:27 The Jets draft quarterback Sam Darnold from USC. He is the highest-graded quarterback in the draft, but he may not have the most potential. He doesn’t have any elite physical traits. And he committed almost two turnovers per game in college. Will be interesting to see how he handles the New York media’s scrutiny when he starts committing turnovers in the NFL.

5:36 The Browns take cornerback Denzel Ward from Ohio State with the fourth pick. I love this selection. Cornerbacks are the most important position in football after quarterbacks. When was the last time a corner was the first defensive player drafted? This pick could signal a shift in NFL ideology.

5:42 The Broncos take defensive end Bradley Chubb with the fifth pick. This is another smart pick. The Broncos will be tougher than most expect next season, and the 49ers will play them Week 14.

5:43 Only two quarterbacks got taken in the first five picks. That’s bad for the 49ers.

5:46 The Colts take guard Quenton Nelson. Still no run on quarterbacks.

5:49 The Bills trade up with the Buccaneers for the seventh pick. I predict the Bills will take quarterback Josh Allen from Wyoming.

5:51 The Bucs received the 12th pick and two second rounders from the Bills.

5:53 The Bills take Allen. Perfect fit for him — he goes to a playoff team, and he can sit for a season behind starter A.J. McCarron. Allen has a good chance to be the best quarterback from this draft.

5:55 Derwin James or Minkah Fitzpatrick will be available when the 49ers are on the clock. Either guy would be fantastic. I would take James.

5:59 The Bears to linebacker Roquan Smith from Georgia. The 49ers have their choice of two great defensive prospects.

6:04 The 49ers draft offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey from Notre Dame. I will grade this pick shortly. Stay tuned.

6:13 The Cardinals trade up with Raiders for the 10th pick, and take quarterback Josh Rosen from UCLA. I wonder if he will start right away over Sam Bradford. Those two are similar quarterbacks.

6:27 The Dolphins take defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick with the 11th pick. The 49ers will regret not taking him.

6:27 The Buccaneers take defensive tackle Vita Vea with the 12th pick. I heard the Bucs loved him, but I thought they preferred James. Never expected he would fall this far.

6:31 The Redskins take defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne with the 13th pick. Another player who is solid but not flashy. A reach.

6:40 The Saints traded this year’s first-round pick and next year’s first rounder to the Packers for the 14th pick, and took defensive end Marcus Davenport from UTSA. That’s a lot to give up.  The Saints still can’t stop the run. That being said, Davenport can play. He’s clearly no worse than the second-best pass rusher in this draft.

6:47 The Raiders take offensive tackle Kolton Miller, who is better than McGlinchey. Miller is a legitimate left tackle. McGlinchey is a mere right tackle.

6:51 The Bills trade up with the Ravens for the 16th pick and take linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, a top-seven talent in this draft. Nice value.

6:57 The Chargers take safety Derwin James with the 17th pick. This is the best pick of the draft so far. He’s a top-five talent. The 49ers’ Week 4 game against the Chargers just got more difficult.

7:07 The Seahawks trade up with the Seahawks for the 18th pick and take cornerback Jaire Alexander. Reach. Not a future pro bowler.

7:12 The Cowboys take linebacker Leighton Vander Esch with the 19th pick. Another reach. He has neck issues. I thought he would go in the second round, but I was wrong.

7:14 The Raiders trade a third-round pick to the Steelers for wide receiver Martavis Bryant. I like the trade in theory, but you just know Jon Gruden will make Bryant run a bunch of five-yard curls and shallow crosses.

7:20 The Lions take center Frank Ragnow from Arkansas with the 20th pick. Strange. James Daniels is a much better center than Ragnow.

This article has 190 Comments

  13. Baker was my top quarterback, but I didn’t think the Browns had the stones to pull the trigger.

  15. QB rankings for me:

    1. Mayfield
    2. Rosen
    3. Darnold
    4. Jackson
    5. Allen

    Browns take the #1. Giants indicated the only QB they would take at 2 was Sam Darnold, and now he’s there. This could be a QB run through the first four picks if Giants don’t take Barkley like they should (assuming Browns trade to Bills when they panic and see QBs go 1-2-3).

  16. And just like that Mayfields career is over.
    He would have been better suited in NY or Den.

    2. I knew Brownies would do something…..unexpected. I wondered if they’d choose L.Jackson just to mess everybody up. ? ? ?

  42. These espn panelists/analysts chatter like car salesmen after each pick, LOL!
    So,……how many cup holders? Hahaha.
    Ward’s good, but they could prolly get him after small trade back seems like

  53. Niners will take Fitzpatrick or trade back. This is looking like James to Bucs, and Roquan Smith to Bears.

  57. The only dawg I had in this fight was Nelson. I’m sure they’ll grab somebody good, but he was my druther

  68. 2 second rounders to move up 5 spots. Bills get to keep their second first rounder.

    Watch the Cardinals and Patriots look for a way to move up for Josh Rosen.

    2. Pats? We could swap 9 for 31 and a couple of 2nds (at least). Guess where that 2nd came from.

  90. Can’t say I’m mad about that, and it might mean Brown is on the move! Welcome to your 49ers family, Mike! I wonder if Gruden is upset….

    1. They’ve made a rather obvious and smart decision in which they’re protecting their investment, and yes, Brown may already be traded. Not spectacular but the O line is of primary need now and down the glory road.

    1. Gruden gets back at us for taking McGlinchey by facilitating a trade with our adversaries for Rosen.

  95. The Trent Brown trade rumors made this more likely, but I didn’t actually predict it.

  97. Anybody else feel sick about this pick? I understand it but very disappointed

    2. +1. If we were going to stay at 9, I would have preferred Fitzpatrick over McGlinchey. I had hoped for the trade down.

    3. Nope. Safety is not a need, the team already has two starting CBs on the roster, and Edwards is hype. I would have preferred a trade back, but I can live without one because it means the team protects their main asset, which is Garoppolo.

  100. Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! Edmunds, Fitzpatrick or Derwin James!!!!! Or freaking trade down!!!
    I absolutely hate the pick…….disgusting!

  101. Very glad they chose to upgrade the line. I would have been fine with either safety as well but I’m happier with this pick.

  103. Solid pick, solid player. Brown is gone for sure. Would have liked to trade back instead of take McGlinchey though.

  105. Niners picked McGlinchey over Edmunds, Fitzpatrick, Landry, and James. They must really like him.

  106. A tackle that’s going to move, a reach, and a horrible pick at 9. They BETTER trade back up to make this right, and even then it was a reach.

  107. Some disappointment missing out on some defensive talent, but the Niners must protect Jimmy. If he gets hurt the season is over.

  108. Wish they had made the trade with Arizona instead of Raiders. They could have waited til Arizonas pick and still gotten their OT.

  109. Good pick. Any contender needs a powerful OL. Obviously pass rush, CBs are necessary too but the 49ers weren’t given three picks in the first round.

  110. In retrospect, the 49ers would have been better off losing the coin toss. The 10th pick turned out to be more valuable than the 9th.

  111. Adam Schefter
    ‏
    Verified account

    @AdamSchefter
    Following Following @AdamSchefter

    Cardinals wanted QB Patrick Mahomes last year.

    Wanted QB Kirk Cousins and QB Josh Allen this year.

    Got QB Josh Rosen, who many consider best thrower in this year’s draft.

  112. As much as we bitched about the OL last year, I don’t see how anyone can hate this pick.

    1. Exactly. One would think improving the chances of Garoppolo of staying on his feet in a clean pocket instead of on his rear should make everyone happy.

  113. For those who don’t know (like Grant) the 49ers have been in talks about trading Trent Brown He doesn’t fit Shanahan’s line play and has his conditioning issues. Add in Joe Staley only has a couple years left… It’s not a bad pick by any means. No matter how many temper-tantrums people throw.

    1. ^ This x100. It’s not a sexy pick, but an important pick for our team.

    2. I like the pick just think we could have gotten him at 15 where the raiders traded back to.

    1. True, but not because of Rosen. More because they have no offensive line, no linebackers, half a secondary…

  115. In FA and with their 1st pick the 49er’s have made a huge investment in their offensive line, which makes perfect sense considering they had the immense good fortune to land Jimmy G for a 2nd rounder and just paid him a king’s ransom.. Now, it will be interesting to see what they do from here. I would expect defensive selections with their next 2 picks (edge and corner) although a WR could be on the board . . .

  118. Like we got an OT. Wish we could have traded back and got him. Does he start at RT or guard?

  120. We couldn’t have traded back and still gotten McGlinchey, because the Raiders probably wanted him. And once he was gone, they traded back. I think more highly of Trent Brown than others I guess, but this was a pick for the future instead of immediate help this year (unless the trade of Brown happens). Can’t complain about looking ahead, but can’t say that pass protection is a concern given that Brown graded out as one of the best Right Tackles at pass protection (the complaint with Brown is in the run game, and his fit in an outside zone scheme).

  122. Can’t believe the Saints traded a future 1st round pick to get Davenport. That’s nuts.

  123. Foster’s girlfriend screwed up our draft! Forced us to pick a high character guy.
    When will we see her cat fight video?

  124. Raiders just swung…and missed. Panicked because they missed out on McGlinchey, took the next tackle. Only Miller is awful.

  126. That’s some twisted reasoning from the Saints camp, gave away the farm to get a fast car. Is Davenport a run stopper? That’s their glaring weakness. Apparently they’re living only for one more flamboyant gamble on Brees’ arm. Too many boozy all-nighters in the French Quarter for those boys . . .

  134. Scratch that. How in the world did the Seahawks trade up with the Seahawks? XD

    1. Nice catch. And Grant was incensed that the 9ers misspelled Foster’s name several days back.

  137. Lots of O line players selected in the first round. It appears NFL value linemen more than the media.
    Could be because line play is a key to making it into the playoffs
    .

  138. My immediate thought on the McGlinchey pick is that I’m extremely disappointed Lynahan apparently don’t feel like they can make it work with the player Shanahan called “the best pass protection tackle I’ve ever seen in my life.” It seems highly likely that Trent Brown will be moving on, either via trade or free agency, and I consider spending the #9 overall pick to replace him a huge setback for a team that had an opportunity to get a lot better.

    That being said! If they keep Brown and move him to left tackle, or McGlinchey turns out to be a quality left tackle for this team, I will be happy with it in the long run. And after the talent they got in the draft last year, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt until we see what McGlinchey turns out to be for this team. Looking forward to the rest of the draft.

  140. Where is the king of the “BEND” Harold Landry. Lol, you guys are a joke. Whoever started that crap doesn’t even qualify as an arm chair GM. Bend, bend, bend, bend!! That’s the thing I guess.

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