The 2018 NFL Draft first round provided plenty of surprises

The NFL Draft will play out rounds two and three at 7:00 p.m. eastern tonight but the first round hand plenty of surprises.

When the Miami Dolphins selected Minkah Fitzpatrick with the 11th overall pick fans and the media alike were not all that surprised. Fitzpatrick is a versatile player who can play multiple positions on defense. It was a smart pick that will help from day one.

Miami never had to worry about drafting a quarterback as none fell to them at 11. Their choice really came down to Tremaine Edmunds, Derwin James, and Fitzpatrick. Any of those three would have been fine.

While Miami’s selection wasn’t a surprise, there were plenty of picks that were and here is what had many in the media talking.

Cleveland:  The Browns surprised a lot of people when they took Baker Mayfield at number one but over the 12 hours prior to that pick Mayfield was gaining a lot of momentum. The real surprise however came at pick four.

With Mayfield locked up the Browns opted to draft CB Denzel Ward. Ward is a fine player but 4th overall? Cleveland could have dropped down more than a few picks and still got him and added some more draft picks. They should have probably taken Bradley Chubb but they would have hit the first day out of the park had they taken Saquon Barkley at one and then drafted one of the top four at pick four.

They think they got the guys they wanted but it was still surprising.

Saints:  Nothing could have shocked fans and the on-air media personalities when the Saints moved  up to 14 from 27 in a trade with the Packers. The move itself wasn’t bad but then they took DE Marcus Davenport. That in and of itself wasn’t bad but they traded a 2019 first round pick in addition to their pick at 27 and a 2018 5th rounder. Davenport had better be better than just good.

Steelers: The fact Pittsburgh took a safety isn’t a surprise but very few believed that Terrell Edmunds, brother of Tremain Edmunds would go in the first round.

Raiders: The Raiders really screwed the Dolphins if they wanted Josh Rosen because that gave the Cardinals their quarterback. Everyone knew that the Cards would try to move up and they did so no surprise but when the Raiders opted to draft offensive lineman Kolton Miller, that was a bit of a surprise.

Ravens: The Baltimore Ravens of all teams jumped back into the first round and took QB Lamar Jackson with pick 32. You don’t draft a quarterback in round one at any point if you don’t plan on him eventually being a starter. For the Ravens, it’s clear they don’t see a long-term future with Joe Flacco. Will he eventually get traded or is his time in the NFL winding down?

Day two should be full of more surprises so stay tuned!