With The First Pick
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2018 NFL Mock Draft: Final evaluations before the Scouting Combine

By Maxwell Ogden

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 17: Quenton Nelson #56 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates after a 10-yard touchdown reception by Corey Robinson against the USC Trojans in the fourth quarter of the game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 17, 2015 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 17: Quenton Nelson #56 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates after a 10-yard touchdown reception by Corey Robinson against the USC Trojans in the fourth quarter of the game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 17, 2015 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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PALO ALTO, CA – SEPTEMBER 23: Josh Rosen #3 of the UCLA Bruins looks to pass against the Stanford Cardinal during the first quarter of their NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on September 23, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – SEPTEMBER 23: Josh Rosen #3 of the UCLA Bruins looks to pass against the Stanford Cardinal during the first quarter of their NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on September 23, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

The 2018 NFL Draft is shaping up to be one of the most rewarding in recent memory. How is it shaping up before the madness of the Scouting Combine?

The Scouting Combine is an event that’s equal parts valuable and deceiving. Many general managers have fallen in love with how an athlete performs at the Combine, and have thus opened their minds to new targets at the NFL Draft.

Unfortunately, many general managers have also put their blinders on and allowed the Combine to speak louder than full seasons of game film.

Thus, with the 2018 Scouting Combine on the horizon, it’s imperative to make note of where we stand before the event. There will be many who rise up draft boards because of their performances at the Combine, and a similar number of players who fall because of their own.

Rather than allowing one event to completely alter our perception of the top prospects in the 2018 NFL Draft, we must establish a baseline to precede it.

That’s the intention of this mock draft, as there are players whose stock shouldn’t be determined by how they perform in drills. It’s an incredibly valuable event, but it’s also a series of days that doesn’t exactly measure football IQ or acumen.

The question is: How is the 2018 NFL Draft shaping up before the Scouting Combine inevitably alters the landscape?

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