Cover 3 is a weekly feature column written by PewterReport.com’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat writer Trevor Sikkema published every Tuesday. The column, as its name suggests, comes in three phases: a statistical observation, an in-depth film breakdown, and a “this or that” segment where the writer asks the reader to chose between two options.

Or, at least, that’s what it usually is. But, this week, since it’s draft week, we’re going to do things a little bit different.

In this week’s Cover 3, I’m giving you all my final “Big Board” plus all of my positional rankings for the 2018 NFL Draft. As some of you may know, not only do I cover the Buccaneers for Pewter Report year-round, but I also host an NFL Draft podcast five days a week, 52 weeks out of the year. This draft stuff isn’t just something I study because it’s an element of my Buccaneers coverage — although that is certainly part of it. Researching, evaluating and enjoying the journey these kids go on from being college students to professionals in their field of football is something I really do love, and is actually how I got my start in this business.

This week truly is a second Christmas week to me. Later this weekend we’ll finally get some clarity on the speculation we’ve been reading about and determining for ourselves for the past four months — and even beyond that for those crazy enough to care about the draft year-round. It’s a weekend full of “Oh my gosh, there’s no way they just did that,” and of course some “I told you so” phrases from all who pay attention. We here at Pewter Report will be doing a live streaming videocast for all three days of the draft, so you can be sure to hear some of those and more from us as the draft unfolds.

Below is my final big board of the Top 100 players in this draft class, in order, based on the talent of the individual. Now, did I get to all 1,000 eligible prospects? Of course not. But, I did my best to get to as many of the players I believed will have an impact on the league for foreseeable future. This is not Bucs-specific, but it certainly can be used as a baseline to judge which players were good choices (from my point of view) if they become Buccaneers. In addition to my Top 100, on the next two pages I also have my positional rankings with some commentary on a few of the highlights from that positional group. Fit does matter for some of these players, and i’ll explain that a bit as we go through each position.

So, picture this as me throwing off the curtain. Here’s my Top 100 players in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Big Board: Top 100

1. Quenton Nelson, OG, Note Dame
2. Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia
3. Derwin James, S, Florida State
4. Bradley Chubb, DE, N.C. State
5. Derrius Guice, RB, LSU
6. Minkah Fitzpatrick, S/CB, Alabama
7. Harold Landry, DE/OLB, Boston College
8. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
9. Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech
10. Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
11. Nathan Shepherd, DT, Fort Hays State
12. Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State
13. Isaiah Wynn, OG, Georgia
14. Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
15. Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville
16. Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan
17. Sony Michel, RB, Georgia
18. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
19. Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama
20. Will Hernandez, OG, UTEP
21. Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
22. Josh Sweat, DE, Florida State
23. Vita Vea, DT, Washington
24. Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa
25. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
26. Frank Ragnow, C, Arkansas
27. Taven Bryan, DT, Florida
28. Ronald Jones, RB, USC
29. Connor Williams, OT, Texas
30. Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State
31. Billy Price, C, Ohio State
32. Shaquem Griffin, LB, UCF
33. Sam Darnold, QB, USC
34. Justin Reid, S, Stanford
35. Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
36. Da’Ron Payne, DT, Alabama
37. Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado
38. Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis
39. Duke Ejiofor, DE, Wake Forest
40. James Daniels, C, Iowa
41. Bo Scarbrough, RB, Alabama
42. Fred Warner, LB, BYU
43. Sam Hubbard, DE, Ohio State
44. Austin Corbett, OG, Nevada
45. Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
46. Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State
47. D.J. Moore, WR, Maryland
48. Lorenzo Carter, OLB, Georgia
49. Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State
50. Mike Hughes, CB, UCF
51. Kemoko Turay, DE/OLB, Rutgers
52. Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
53. Desmond Harrison, OT, West Georgia
54. John Kelly, RB, Tennessee
55. Tyrell Crosby, OG, Oregon
56. Antonio Callaway, WR, Florida
57. Kyzir White, S, WVU
58. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, DE/OLB, Oklahoma
59. Jalyn Holmes, DT, Ohio State
60. Jessie Bates, S, Wake Forest
61. Quenton Meeks, CB, Stanford
62. Dante Pettis, WR, Washington
63. Genard Avery, DE/OLB, Memphis
64. Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma
65. Kerryon Johnson, RB, Auburn
66. Derrick Nnadi, DT, Florida State
67. Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA
68. DaeSean Hamilton, WR, Penn State
69. Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama
70. Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
71. Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma
72. Brian Allen, C, Michigan State
73. Hayden Hurst, TE, South Carolina
74. Josh Adams, RB, Notre Dame
75. Deshon Elliott, S Texas
76. Carlton Davis, CB, Auburn
77. Kentavius Street, DE, N.C. State
78. Wyatt Teller, OG, Virginia Tech
79. Jamarco Jones, OT, Ohio State
80. Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M
81. Duke Dawson, CB, Florida
82. Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas
83. Tyquan Lewis, DE, Ohio State
84. Braden Smith, OG, Auburn
85. Mark Walton, RB, Miami
86. Chukwuma Okorafor, OT, Western Michigan
87. Andrew Brown, DT, Virginia
88. Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State
89. Foley Fatukasi, DT, Uconn
90. Trenton Thompson, DT, Georgia
91. Arden Key, DE, LSU
92. M.J. Stewart, CB, UNC
93. Ian Thomas, TE, Indiana
94. Equanimeous St. Brown, WR, Notre Dame
95. Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA
96. Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon
97. Nyheim Hines, RB, N.C. State
98. Brian O’Niell, OT, Pittsburgh
99. B.J. Hill, DT, N.C. State
100. Auden Tate, WR, Florida State

The strongest position groups in the draft are interior offensive tackle, running back and linebacker. I also found myself really liking some of the safety players in this class, too – didn’t expect that as much.

Click to the next page to see me breakdown each position.