2019 NFL Mock Draft: Cardinals to pick the best quarterback, Oakland to land best prospect in the class
I have now done all the positional draft rankings, given in-depth analysis of about 150 draft prospects and put together the top 100 big board. Now it is time for the one and only mock draft of the year. I don’t like doing more than one since it’s all speculation and listening to reports, rather than actually being able to evaluate talent and where these young men should be selected.
It is almost impossible to predict draft day trades and there could still be a major chess piece ruling the first round – where will Josh Rosen end up if the Cardinals do go quarterback at number one? Regardless, I tried to predict. So to clear this up – This is what I think will happen, not necessarily what I would do.
Here's the 2019 NFL Mock Draft for the first round:
Pick #1 Arizona Cardinals - Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
I am seeing all these reports about how the Cardinals are expected to pass up on the Heisman trophy winner, but I think this might just be a smokescreen. Last year reports came out very late in the process that the Browns would select Baker Mayfield first overall and they would prove to be true, but we have been hearing all along that the Cardinals would be going with Kyler Murray and I won’t just throw all that out of the window now at the last moment.
This makes too much sense. New head coach Kliff Kingsbury has wanted to get his hands on this kid ever since he first tried to recruit him and he would be the perfect fit for his Air-Raid offense, even if Josh Rosen would probably do well in it too.
Pick #2 San Francisco 49ers - Nick Bosa, Edge, Ohio State
This is the second one that I think has been locked in pretty much since the combine. The 49ers have drafted three defensive linemen, that are all at their best at 3-technique in their 4-3 defense. They already traded a second-round pick for Dee Ford and now they get the most refined edge rusher in the draft to complete that front.
Like his brother Joey, Nick Bosa uses his hands and power exceptionally well to dominate matchups and he will be a stalwart for the Niners for the next decade plus now. All of a sudden that San Francisco pass rush could go from being in the bottom third in terms of sacks to one of the most potent units in the league.
Pick #3 New York Jets - Josh Allen, Edge, Kentucky
The Jets are desperately looking for a trade partner because they already have their franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold and they need to put a better overall roster around him. The only teams I could see moving up here would be the Broncos or Bengals in case they fall in love with a quarterback.
The asking price by Gang Green however would likely be their first-round pick, a second-rounder and a 2020 first-rounder. I don’t see either one going all out, so the logical choice was Josh Allen. The SEC’s reigning sack-leader had a monster 2018 season and could be the elite edge rusher this team has been trying to find forever.
Pick #4 Oakland Raiders - Quinnen Williams, DL, Alabama
No way can the Raiders pass on who I think is the best player in the entire draft. Quinnen Williams is about as flawless a prospect as it gets outside of having just one full season of production. New Oakland GM Mike Mayock had another Alabama interior D-linemen in Jonathan Allen second on his big board only behind Myles Garrett a couple of years ago and I think Williams’ upside is definitely superior to Allen’s.
The Raiders need pass rush help badly after finishing with a ridiculous 13(!) sacks last season. Big Q led all interior defenders with 55 total pressures in 2018 while also being one of the premier run-stoppers, putting up 17 tackles for loss as well.