The2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting ofNational Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 atAT&T Stadium inArlington southwest ofDallas; it was the first draft to take place in an NFL stadium and the first to be held inTexas.[3][4][5] In order to be eligible to enter the draft, players must be at least three years removed from high school. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft was January 15, 2018.[6]
Five quarterbacks were selected in the first round—Baker Mayfield,Sam Darnold,Josh Allen,Josh Rosen, andLamar Jackson—the second highest amount (along with the1999 and2021 drafts) after the six selected in1983 and2024.[7] As of 2024, only Allen and Jackson have remained with their original teams, although Mayfield and Darnold would have more success on other teams. The draft was also the first to have siblings—safetyTerrell Edmunds and linebackerTremaine Edmunds—selected in its first round.[8]
In order to be eligible to enter the draft, players must be at least three years removed from high school. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft was January 15, 2018.[9]
The following is the breakdown of the 256 players selected byposition:
First-round quarterbacksBaker Mayfield (top) andSam Darnold (bottom), drafted 1st and 3rd overall, were both traded away from their original teams after struggles before experiencing mid-career revivals with subsequent teams.
Two other first-round quarterbacks,Josh Allen (top, 7th overall) andLamar Jackson (bottom, 32nd overall), became franchise quarterbacks for the teams that drafted them. Both have broken franchise passing records, led their teams to multiple playoff appearances, and combined for severalPro Bowl andAll-Pro nods, in addition to threeNFL MVP Awards.
2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year & 2024 Offensive Player of the YearSaquon BarkleySecond-round running backNick Chubb (#24) running, first-round safetyMinkah Fitzpatrick (#39) is defending; Chubb is a four-time Pro Bowler, while Fitzpatrick is a three-time Pro Bowler and has been named an All-Pro three times
Asupplemental draft was held on July 11, 2018. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft for the following season.
(PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e.Pre-Draft), while(D) denotes trades which took place during the 2018 draft.
Round one
^No. 3: Indianapolis → NY Jets (PD).Indianapolis traded a first-round selection (3rd) to theJets in exchange for the Jets' first-round selection (6th), two second-round selections (37th and49th), and a second-round selection in2019.[TRADE 1]
^No. 4: Houston → Cleveland (PD).Houston traded a first-round selection (4th) and a first-round selection in2017 (25th) toCleveland in exchange for Cleveland's first-round selection in2017 (12th). With the trade, Houston selectedDeshaun Watson.[TRADE 2]
^No. 7: Tampa Bay → Buffalo (D).Tampa Bay traded first- and seventh-round selections (7th and255th) toBuffalo in exchange for Buffalo's first-round selection (12th) and two second-round selections (53rd and56th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 10: Oakland → Arizona (D).Oakland traded a first-round selection (10th) toArizona in exchange for Arizona's first-, third-, and fifth-round selections (15th,79th, and152nd).[TRADE 3]
^No. 14: Green Bay → New Orleans (D).Green Bay traded a first-round selection (14th) toNew Orleans in exchange for New Orleans's first- and fifth-round selections (27th and147th) and a first-round selection in2019.[TRADE 3]
^No. 16: Baltimore → Buffalo (D).Baltimore traded first- and fifth-round selections (16th and154th) toBuffalo in exchange for Buffalo's first and third round selections (22nd and65th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 18: Seattle → Green Bay (D).Seattle traded first- and seventh-round selections (18th and248th) toGreen Bay in exchange for Green Bay's first-, third-, and sixth-round selections (27th,76th, and186th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 23: LA Rams → New England (PD). TheRams traded first- and sixth-round selections (23rd and198th) toNew England in exchange for New England's fourth-round selection (136th) and wide receiverBrandin Cooks.[TRADE 5]
^No. 32: Philadelphia → Baltimore (D).Philadelphia traded first- and fourth-round selections (32nd and132nd) toBaltimore in exchange for Baltimore's second- and fourth-round selections (52nd and125th) and a second-round selection in2019.[TRADE 3]
^No. 44: Washington → San Francisco (D).Washington traded second- and fifth-round selections (44th and142nd) toSan Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's second- and third-round selections (59th and74th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 46: Cincinnati → Kansas City (D).Cincinnati traded second- and third-round selections (46th and100th) toKansas City in exchange for Kansas City's second- and third-round selections (54th and78th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 64: multiple trades: No. 64: Philadelphia → Cleveland (PD).Philadelphia traded a second-round selection (64th) as well as a first-, third-, and fourth-round selections in2016 (8th,77th, and100th) and a first-round selection in2017 toCleveland in exchange for Cleveland's first-round selection in2016 (2nd) and a fourth-round selection in2017.[TRADE 10] No. 64: Cleveland → Indianapolis (D).Cleveland traded a second-round selection (64th) toIndianapolis in exchange for Indianapolis' third- and sixth-round selections (67th and178th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 70: Chicago → San Francisco (PD).Chicago traded a third-round selection (70th) as well as first-, third-, and fourth-round selections in2017 (3rd,67th, and111th) toSan Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's first-round selection in2017 (2nd).[TRADE 2]
^No. 80: Seattle → Houston (PD).Seattle traded a third-round selection (80th) as well as a second-round selection in2019 toHouston in exchange for Houston's fifth-round selection (141st) and offensive tackleDuane Brown. This trade originally included cornerbackJeremy Lane but was revised after Lane failed his physical.[TRADE 15]
^No. 85: Buffalo → Carolina (PD).Buffalo traded a third-round selection (85th) as well as a 2018 seventh-round selection (previously acquired from theLA Chargers) toCarolina in exchange for wide receiverKelvin Benjamin.[TRADE 16]
^No. 87: LA Rams → Oakland (D). TheRams traded their third-round selection (87th) toOakland in exchange for Oakland's third- and seventh-round selections (89th and217th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 88: Carolina → Green Bay (D).Carolina traded a third-round selection (88th) toGreen Bay in exchange for Green Bay's fourth- and fifth-round selections (101st and147th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 94: Minnesota → Tampa Bay (D).Minnesota traded a third-round selection (94th) toTampa Bay in exchange for Tampa Bay's fourth- and sixth-round selections (102nd and180th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 114: multiple trades: No. 114: Green Bay → Cleveland (PD). see No. 101: Cleveland → Green Bay.[TRADE 17] No. 114: Cleveland → New England (D). see No. 105: New England → Cleveland.[TRADE 3] No. 114: New England → Detroit (D).New England traded a fourth-round selection (114th) toDetroit in exchange for Detroit's third-round selection in2019.[TRADE 3]
^No. 115: Arizona → Chicago (PD).Arizona traded a fourth-round selection (115th) as well as second-, fourth-, and sixth-round selections in2017 (45th,119th,197th) toChicago in exchange for Chicago's second-round selection in2017 (36th).[TRADE 2]
^No. 123: multiple trades: No. 123: Carolina → Cleveland (PD).Carolina traded a fourth-round selection and punterKasey Redfern toCleveland in exchange for punterAndy Lee and Cleveland's2017 seventh-round selection in a late August 2016 trade.[TRADE 20] No. 123: Cleveland → Miami (PD).Cleveland traded this fourth-round selection toMiami in exchange for wide receiverJarvis Landry in 2018.[TRADE 17]
^No. 124: LA Rams → Kansas City (PD). TheRams traded their fourth-round selection (124th) and second-round selection in2019 toKansas City in exchange for Kansas City's sixth-round selection (209th) and cornerbackMarcus Peters.[TRADE 21]
^No. 131: multiple trades: No. 131: New England → Philadelphia (PD).New England traded a fourth-round selection toPhiladelphia in exchange for cornerbackEric Rowe. The fourth-round selection would have become a third-round selection if Rowe had played more than 50 percent of the defensive snaps in 2016 or 2017, but he did not.[TRADE 24] No. 131: Philadelphia → Miami (PD).Philadelphia traded this fourth-round selection toMiami in exchange for running backJay Ajayi.[TRADE 25]
^No. 135: NY Giants → LA Rams (PD). TheGiants traded fourth- and sixth-round selections (135th and176th) to theRams in exchange for the Rams' seventh-round selection in2019 and linebackerAlec Ogletree.[TRADE 26]
^No. 138: Cleveland → Green Bay (PD). see No. 101: Cleveland → Green Bay.[TRADE 17]
^No. 140: Indianapolis → Oakland (D).Indianapolis traded a fifth-round selection (140th) toOakland in exchange for the Oakland's fifth- and sixth-round selections (159th and185th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 157: multiple trades: No. 157: Dallas → NY Jets (PD).Dallas traded a fifth-round selection (157th) to theJets in exchange for the Jets' sixth-round selection in2017 (191st).[TRADE 2] No. 157: NY Jets → Minnesota (D). TheJets traded their fifth-round selection (157th) to theMinnesota in exchange for Minnesota's fifth- and seventh-round selections (167th and225th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 160: multiple trades: No. 160: LA Rams → Denver (PD). TheRams traded a fifth-round selection (160th) toDenver in exchange for cornerbackAqib Talib.[TRADE 35] No. 160: Denver → LA Rams (D).Denver traded a fifth-round selection (160th) to theRams in exchange for the Rams' two sixth-round selections (183rd and217th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 166: Jacksonville → Buffalo (PD)Jacksonville traded a sixth-round selection toBuffalo in exchange for defensive tackleMarcell Dareus. This pick became a fifth-rounds selection (166th) after Dareus remained on Jacksonville's roster for the remainder of the 2017 season and the Jaguars made the playoffs.[TRADE 37]
^No. 194: multiple trades: No. 194: Detroit → LA Rams (PD).Detroit traded a sixth-round selection (194th) to theRams in exchange for offensive tackleGreg Robinson.[TRADE 43] No. 194: LA Rams → Atlanta (D). TheRams traded their sixth-round selection (194th) toAtlanta in exchange for Atlanta's two seventh-round selections (244th and256th.)[TRADE 3]
^No. 223: multiple trades: No. 223: Tampa Bay → Miami (PD).Tampa Bay traded a seventh-round selection (223rd) as well as a seventh-round selection in2017 (237th) toMiami in exchange for Miami's seventh-round selection in2017 (223rd).[TRADE 2] No. 223: Miami → San Francisco (PD).Miami traded this seventh-round selection (223rd) toSan Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's seventh-round selection (227th) and centerDaniel Kilgore.[TRADE 49]
^No. 230: Cincinnati → Jacksonville (PD).Cincinnati traded a conditional selection toJacksonville in exchange for defensive endChris Smith.[TRADE 51] The conditions were that the Jaguars would acquire the Bengals' seventh-round selection if Smith was on the Bengals' active roster for at least 6 games during the 2017 season, which he was.[TRADE 52]
Coverage of the draft was broadcast byESPN andNFL Network, withFox also simulcasting NFL Network's coverage of the first two rounds of broadcast television (serving as a prelude for Fox's acquisition ofThursday Night Football for the 2018 season). ESPN aired coverage of the last four rounds onABC.College GameDay broadcast a special edition from outside AT&T Stadium as a pre-show on ESPN, and its panel hosted a secondary broadcast of the first round onESPN2.[10]ESPN Deportes broadcast coverage in Spanish.[2][11]
Telecasts of the first round across all three broadcasters (which included the expansion of coverage to broadcast television) drew a combined Nielsen overnight household rating of 8.4, and total viewership of 11.214 million, making it the most-watched opening round since2014. ESPN drew the largest single audience, with 5.336 million viewers, while Fox and NFL Network had a combined viewership of 5.74 million across both channels (3.776 and 2.005 million individually).[12][13]