2018 NFL Draft: Mel Kiper Jr. goes Quarterback Heavy in his latest Mock Draft
By Jon Dove
Mel Kiper Jr. is the best known draft analyst and has just released a new mock draft for the 2018 NFL Draft.
ESPN continues to reap the rewards of having Mel Kiper Jr. on their roster. He’s a staple of the NFL Draft scene and has just released a new 2018 NFL Draft Mock Draft. This updated version is behind ESPN’s Insider paywall, but we can still breakdown a little of his thoughts.
Kiper has five quarterbacks going in the 1st round of the draft. The big four in Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield come off the board very early. Lamar Jackson is the big surprise in this update.
Jackson has been a lightening rod during the draft process. There are plenty of people who believe in his potential as a quarterback while others feel he may need to change position.
The last quarterback to go in the 1st round with this much positional question marks is Tim Tebow. Many felt that Tebow would need to shift to tight end in order to stick in the NFL. However, Josh McDaniels and the Denver Broncos thought differently.
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Tebow had some mild success early in his career, but was never able to stick as a quarterback. He is now playing baseball in the New York Mets organization.
It’s not completely fair to compare Jackson to Tebow. Jackson is a more natural passer who has a powerful arm. His accuracy is also much better than Tebow’s when he was coming out of college. However, Jackson does need to tighten up his deliver and become a more consistent performer.
This draft process will continue to follow the Jackson storyline as it is one of the more interesting situations in this draft.