NFL Draft 2018: Who's Going No.1? Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley Among Favorites

With exactly two months remaining until the 2018 NFL Draft, it’s still anybody’s guess regarding which player will be taken first overall. The Cleveland Browns have the No.1 pick in the first round, and five candidates have a realistic chance to be the first player selected.

In a quarterback-rich draft, the odds favor Cleveland taking one of the four top signal callers. Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and even Baker Mayfield are in the running to be the Browns’ quarterback of the future. Cleveland could choose to take one of those players with the No.4 overall pick, which they also own, and go with running back Saquon Barkley with the first overall selection.

Barkley might be the surest thing in the 2018 draft class. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in all three of his seasons at Penn State. In the 2017 season, the junior averaged 5.9 yards per carry, totaling 1,903 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns.

The running back position, however, is seemingly becoming less and less important in the NFL each year. Ki-Jana Carter—also from Penn State—was the last running back to be drafted first overall when the Cincinnati Bengals picked him in 1995. He never rushed for more than 464 yards in a season.

Bet Online has set the odds of Barkley going first overall at +275.

Darnold (+200) is the favorite to be taken first overall. He was projected to go No.1 before last season began, though he didn’t exactly live up to expectations in his second year as USC’s starting quarterback. He saw his touchdowns decrease from 31 to 26 while his interception count grew from nine to 13.

If Darnold, 20, is picked first it’ll be as a result of the raw talent he showcased at just 20 years old. The same could be the case for Allen (+300), who has one of the strongest arms to enter the draft in recent years.

Allen didn’t exactly put up eye-popping numbers while playing against subpar competition at Wyoming. He posted an 8-3 record, averaging fewer than 165 passing yards per game. The junior threw for 16 touchdowns and six interceptions after posting 28 touchdown passes and 15 picks in the previous season.

Maybe it’ll be Rosen (+450) that gets picked first. He had 3,756 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as UCLA’s starter. Most mock drafts seem to have him going somewhere between second and sixth overall.

Mayfield (+650) has the best college resume of any quarterback, by far. He completed more than 70 percent of his passes and threw for at least 40 touchdowns in consecutive years at Oklahoma, leading the Sooners to last season’s College Football Playoff.

Bet Online has set odds for defensive end Bradley Chubb (+3300) and defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick (+2500) to go first overall, though it’d be stunning to see Cleveland take either player.

The Browns took defensive end Myles Garrett first overall in 2017 and quarterbacks have made up 12 of the last 17 No.1 overall picks. Rookie DeShone Kizer threw for 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as Cleveland’s starting quarterback last season.