Written by Brad Weiss at Fanside.com
As we near the midway point of the NFL season, we take a look at our latest 2018 NFL Mock Draft heading into the Week 9 schedule.
Week 9 of the NFL schedule is on the horizon, and teams are starting to separate themselves from the competition. As with every season, there have been some incredibly surprising starts to the season, including the fact that the New York Giants have won only one game. Cleveland and San Francisco are still looking for their first win, and were in line to draft quarterbacks, but that all changed Monday night.
The 49ers made a trade with New England to get a quarterback, trading a 2018 second round pick to the Pats for Jimmy Garoppolo. That means the team will go a different route next April, which shakes things up early in round one. With that said, let’s take a look at our latest 2018 NFL Mock Draft.
SAM DARNOLD: Cleveland Browns
Quarterback, USC
The Cleveland Browns went across the pond to lose a game on Sunday, as they were beaten pretty soundly by the Minnesota Vikings. Quarterback DeShone Kizer got the start for the Browns, as his seesaw rookie season continued. He did a couple of nice things under center, including scoring a big rushing touchdown when the game was close, but he does not look like the team’s future at the position at this point.
Heading into draft time, you have to wonder whether or not head coach Hue Jackson will even be with the team. He does not seem too enamored with Kizer, and if he is still with the organization, he may want to pick another quarterback. He is considered by many to be a great quarterback coach, but from what we have seen in Cleveland, he is more into playing musical chairs with his signal-caller.
If Cleveland is picking No. 1 overall, and he decides to come out, the team should select Sam Darnold from USC. Darnold is the best quarterback prospect in this draft class, and it will be hard for the organization to pass on another quarter. The Browns are already catching so much heat for passing on Deshaun Watson and Carson Wentz in the last two drafts, so the pressure to bring in Darnold may be too much to overlook next April.
MIKE MCGLINCHEY: San Francisco 49ers
Offensive Tackle, Notre Dame
When I first sat down to write this mock draft, I had the San Francisco 49ers picking Josh Rosen with the No. 2 overall pick in next April’s NFL Draft. However, during that time, the news came down that the team had traded for Jimmy Garoppolo, sending a second-round pick in 2018 to the New England Patriots. That means that they have their quarterback of the future, so no quarterback for them in the first round when it comes time for them to make their pick.
With a quarterback possessing talent, the 49ers may want to bring in the best offensive lineman in the draft to protect their new investment. Mike McGlinchey of Notre Dame would be a nice pick here, as it would give Jimmy G a left tackle to protect his blindside for the next ten seasons. He has proven to be a solid quarterback during his time with New England, and will now have a terrific quarterback coach as his head coach with the 49ers.
McGlinchey is the best in this draft class and has the size, and feet to stay on the left side at the next level. Adding a player like McGlinchey would solidify the left tackle position, and when you consider the talent the 49ers have at running back, they could be much improved on offense next season. Garoppolo will not play this weekend, but after releasing Brian Hoyer, you can only imagine he will be under center before long.
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