The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was the first draft to take place in an NFL stadium and the first to be held in Texas.[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]
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 by position:
First-round quarterbacks (from top to bottom) Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson received Pro Bowl honors, broke franchise passing records and led their teams to the playoffs. Jackson won the NFL MVP Award in 2019 and 2023.
A supplemental 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 the Jets in exchange for the Jets' first-round selection (6th), two second-round selections (37th and 49th), and a second-round selection in 2019.[TRADE 1]
^No. 4: Houston → Cleveland (PD).Houston traded a first-round selection (4th) and a first-round selection in 2017 (25th) to Cleveland in exchange for Cleveland's first-round selection in 2017 (12th). With the trade, Houston selected Deshaun Watson.[TRADE 2]
^No. 7: Tampa Bay → Buffalo (D).Tampa Bay traded first- and seventh-round selections (7th and 255th) to Buffalo in exchange for Buffalo's first-round selection (12th) and two second-round selections (53rd and 56th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 10: Oakland → Arizona (D).Oakland traded a first-round selection (10th) to Arizona in exchange for Arizona's first-, third-, and fifth-round selections (15th, 79th, and 152nd).[TRADE 3]
^No. 14: Green Bay → New Orleans (D).Green Bay traded a first-round selection (14th) to New Orleans in exchange for New Orleans's first- and fifth-round selections (27th and 147th) and a first-round selection in 2019.[TRADE 3]
^No. 16: Baltimore → Buffalo (D).Baltimore traded first- and fifth-round selections (16th and 154th) to Buffalo in exchange for Buffalo's first and third round selections (22nd and 65th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 18: Seattle → Green Bay (D).Seattle traded first- and seventh-round selections (18th and 248th) to Green Bay in exchange for Green Bay's first-, third-, and sixth-round selections (27th, 76th, and 186th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 23: LA Rams → New England (PD). The Rams traded first- and sixth-round selections (23rd and 198th) to New England in exchange for New England's fourth-round selection (136th) and wide receiver Brandin Cooks.[TRADE 5]
^No. 32: Philadelphia → Baltimore (D).Philadelphia traded first- and fourth-round selections (32nd and 132nd) to Baltimore in exchange for Baltimore's second- and fourth-round selections (52nd and 125th) and a second-round selection in 2019.[TRADE 3]
^No. 41: Oakland → Tennessee (D).Oakland traded a second-round selection (41st) to Tennessee in exchange for Tennessee's second- and third-round selections (57th and 89th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 43: multiple trades: No. 43: San Francisco → New England (PD).San Francisco traded a second-round selection (43rd) to New England in exchange for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.[TRADE 7] No. 43: New England → Detroit (D).New England traded a second-round selection (43rd) to Detroit in exchange for Detroit's second- and fourth-round selections (51st and 117th)[TRADE 3]
^No. 44: Washington → San Francisco (D).Washington traded second- and fifth-round selections (44th and 142nd) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's second- and third-round selections (59th and 74th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 46: Cincinnati → Kansas City (D).Cincinnati traded second- and third-round selections (46th and 100th) to Kansas City in exchange for Kansas City's second- and third-round selections (54th and 78th).[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 in 2016 (8th, 77th, and 100th) and a first-round selection in 2017 to Cleveland in exchange for Cleveland's first-round selection in 2016 (2nd) and a fourth-round selection in 2017.[TRADE 10] No. 64: Cleveland → Indianapolis (D).Cleveland traded a second-round selection (64th) to Indianapolis in exchange for Indianapolis' third- and sixth-round selections (67th and 178th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 70: Chicago → San Francisco (PD).Chicago traded a third-round selection (70th) as well as first-, third-, and fourth-round selections in 2017 (3rd, 67th, and 111th) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's first-round selection in 2017 (2nd).[TRADE 2]
^No. 80: Seattle → Houston (PD).Seattle traded a third-round selection (80th) as well as a second-round selection in 2019 to Houston in exchange for Houston's fifth-round selection (141st) and offensive tackle Duane Brown. This trade originally included cornerback Jeremy 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 the LA Chargers) to Carolina in exchange for wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin.[TRADE 16]
^No. 87: LA Rams → Oakland (D). The Rams traded their third-round selection (87th) to Oakland in exchange for Oakland's third- and seventh-round selections (89th and 217th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 88: Carolina → Green Bay (D).Carolina traded a third-round selection (88th) to Green Bay in exchange for Green Bay's fourth- and fifth-round selections (101st and 147th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 94: Minnesota → Tampa Bay (D).Minnesota traded a third-round selection (94th) to Tampa Bay in exchange for Tampa Bay's fourth- and sixth-round selections (102nd and 180th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 109: multiple trades: No. 109: San Francisco → Denver (PD).San Francisco traded a fourth-round selection (109th) to Denver in exchange for running back Kapri Bibbs and their fifth-round selection in 2017 (177th).[TRADE 2] No. 109: Denver → Washington (PD).Denver traded fourth- and two fifth-round selections (109th, 142nd, and 163rd) to Washington in exchange for Washington's fourth- and fifth-round selections (113th and 149th) and safety Su'a Cravens.[TRADE 18]
^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) to Detroit in exchange for Detroit's third-round selection in 2019.[TRADE 3]
^No. 115: Arizona → Chicago (PD).Arizona traded a fourth-round selection (115th) as well as second-, fourth-, and sixth-round selections in 2017 (45th, 119th, 197th) to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's second-round selection in 2017 (36th).[TRADE 2]
^No. 123: multiple trades: No. 123: Carolina → Cleveland (PD).Carolina traded a fourth-round selection and punter Kasey Redfern to Cleveland in exchange for punter Andy Lee and Cleveland's 2017 seventh-round selection in a late August 2016 trade.[TRADE 20] No. 123: Cleveland → Miami (PD).Cleveland traded this fourth-round selection to Miami in exchange for wide receiver Jarvis Landry in 2018.[TRADE 17]
^No. 124: LA Rams → Kansas City (PD). The Rams traded their fourth-round selection (124th) and second-round selection in 2019 to Kansas City in exchange for Kansas City's sixth-round selection (209th) and cornerback Marcus Peters.[TRADE 21]
^No. 131: multiple trades: No. 131: New England → Philadelphia (PD).New England traded a fourth-round selection to Philadelphia in exchange for cornerback Eric 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 to Miami in exchange for running back Jay Ajayi.[TRADE 25]
^No. 135: NY Giants → LA Rams (PD). The Giants traded fourth- and sixth-round selections (135th and 176th) to the Rams in exchange for the Rams' seventh-round selection in 2019 and linebacker Alec 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) to Oakland in exchange for the Oakland's fifth- and sixth-round selections (159th and 185th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 157: multiple trades: No. 157: Dallas → NY Jets (PD).Dallas traded a fifth-round selection (157th) to the Jets in exchange for the Jets' sixth-round selection in 2017 (191st).[TRADE 2] No. 157: NY Jets → Minnesota (D). The Jets traded their fifth-round selection (157th) to the Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota's fifth- and seventh-round selections (167th and 225th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 160: multiple trades: No. 160: LA Rams → Denver (PD). The Rams traded a fifth-round selection (160th) to Denver in exchange for cornerback Aqib Talib.[TRADE 35] No. 160: Denver → LA Rams (D).Denver traded a fifth-round selection (160th) to the Rams in exchange for the Rams' two sixth-round selections (183rd and 217th).[TRADE 3]
^No. 166: Jacksonville → Buffalo (PD)Jacksonville traded a sixth-round selection to Buffalo in exchange for defensive tackle Marcell 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 the Rams in exchange for offensive tackle Greg Robinson.[TRADE 43] No. 194: LA Rams → Atlanta (D). The Rams traded their sixth-round selection (194th) to Atlanta in exchange for Atlanta's two seventh-round selections (244th and 256th.)[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 in 2017 (237th) to Miami in exchange for Miami's seventh-round selection in 2017 (223rd).[TRADE 2] No. 223: Miami → San Francisco (PD).Miami traded this seventh-round selection (223rd) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's seventh-round selection (227th) and center Daniel Kilgore.[TRADE 49]
^No. 230: Cincinnati → Jacksonville (PD).Cincinnati traded a conditional selection to Jacksonville in exchange for defensive end Chris 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 by ESPN and NFL Network, with Fox also simulcasting NFL Network's coverage of the first two rounds of broadcast television (serving as a prelude for Fox's acquisition of Thursday Night Football for the 2018 season). ESPN aired coverage of the last four rounds on ABC. 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 on ESPN2.[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 since 2014. 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]