NFL Draft 2019: Mock Draft for Every Selection in Star-Studded 1st Round

Happy New Year, folks! We've officially turned the calendar to 2019, which of course means it's time to start looking to the 2019 NFL draft. Sure, there are 12 teams still living in a 2018 world and battling for a shot at the Lombardi Trophy, but for the rest, it's on to Nashville, Tennessee.

This year's draft class is shaping up to be a good one. It's chock-full of defensive talent, skill players and offensive linemen. Legitimate NFL stars will begin their NFL careers in 2019. Where the draft class falls short, though, is at quarterback.

Not every draft is going to feature five first-rounders like last year's did, of course, but then Oregon's Justin Herbert announced he would return to college for 2019, leaving quarterback-needy teams in an awkward position.

It's great news for other college star quarterbacks like Dwayne Haskins and Drew Lock—not to mention pending free agents like Teddy Bridgewater and Ryan Fitzpatrick—but it also means that a team is likely going to have to trade up to secure its quarterback of the future. Grabbing a Lamar Jackson-type talent at pick 32 just isn't going to happen.

We're not ready to mock trades quite yet, but we are going to take a crack at mocking the first round of April's draft. We'll make our predictions for the entire first round based on factors like player potential, positional value and team fit. We'll also take a closer look at the potential picks of some teams that did take star quarterbacks last year.

2019 NFL Mock Draft, Round 1

1. Arizona Cardinals: Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State

2. San Francisco 49ers: Josh Allen, LB, Kentucky

3. New York Jets: Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama

4. Oakland Raiders: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State

6. New York Giants: Byron Murphy, CB, Washington

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma

8. Detroit Lions: Greedy Williams, CB, LSU

9. Buffalo Bills: N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State

10. Denver Broncos: Jeffery Simmons, DT, Mississippi State

11. Cincinnati Bengals: Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama

12. Green Bay Packers: Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama

13. Miami Dolphins: Dre'Mont Jones, DT, Ohio State

14. Atlanta Falcons: Devin White, LB, LSU

15. Washington Redskins: Drew Lock, QB, Missouri

16. Carolina Panthers: Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson

17. Cleveland Browns: Amani Oruwariye, CB, Penn State

18. Minnesota Vikings: Chris Lindstrom, G, Boston College

19. Tennessee Titans: Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn

20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia

21. Philadelphia Eagles: D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss

22. Indianapolis Colts: Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson

23. Seattle Seahawks: Jachai Polite, DE, Florida

24. Baltimore Ravens: Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State

25. Oakland Raiders (from Dallas): Brian Burns, DE, Florida State

26. Houston Texans: Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss

27. Oakland Raiders (from Chicago): Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma

28. Los Angeles Chargers: Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson

29. New England Patriots: Rashan Gary, DE, Michigan

30. Los Angeles Rams: Raekwon Davis, DT, Alabama

31. Kansas City Chiefs: Devin Bush, LB, Michigan

32. Green Bay Packers (from New Orleans): David Edwards, OT, Wisconsin

1. Arizona Cardinals: Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

With a loss in Week 17, the Arizona Cardinals secured the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. This is the prime spot to take an incoming quarterback, but Arizona drafted former UCLA signal-caller Josh Rosen just last year. What this means is that the Cardinals have plenty of options.

The Cardinals can grab who they feel is the best player in the draft, or they can trade the pick away to a quarterback-needy team like, say, the Jacksonville Jaguars and still grab a future star.

This is similar to the position the Cleveland Brown found themselves in two years ago—though they didn't have a Rosen on the roster. They passed on trading the pick in order to grab pass-rusher Myles Garrett, who just finished up a 13.5-sack season and is emerging as an elite defender. The Cardinals can find a similar talent in Ohio State edge-rusher Nick Bosa.

Bosa has been trending as the top pick since pretty much the start of the collegiate season. We've already seen what his brother, Joey Bosa, can do in the NFL, and Nick looks like a clone of a sack artist.

Jon Ledyard of the Draft Network recently ranked Bosa just behind his brother and Garrett in terms of NFL potential coming out of college. Pairing Bosa with Chandler Jones would give the Cardinals the kind of elite pass-rushing tandem his brother and Melvin Ingram have forged for the Los Angeles Chargers.

3. New York Jets: Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama

Like the Cardinals, the New York Jets grabbed their quarterback of the future in 2018. They took USC's Sam Darnold with the third overall pick, and now they're going to be focused on surrounding him with talent.

With pass-rushers Bosa and Josh Allen off the board at No. 3, New York's decision is likely to come down to elite defensive tackle prospects Ed Oliver and Quinnen Williams. Here, we're going to give the edge to the Alabama product Williams.

Williams is the kind of athletic defensive tackle in the Aaron Donald mold that teams are going to be seeking for the foreseeable future.

"The game is changing," one NFL scout recently said, per Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com. "The style of player you need, that two-gapping big, run-stuffing defensive tackle, is getting diminished. It really is. You have to have guys who can rush the passer in today's NFL."

Williams, who had 8.0 sacks and 18.0 tackles for a loss in 2018, is exactly this kind of interior defender. While Oliver is a tremendous prospect, Williams will be playing in the national championship game and will be the hotter player heading into the scouting combine.

9. Buffalo Bills: N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State

The Buffalo Bills are the next team with a second-year quarterback in the draft order. What separates them from the Cardinals and the Jets is that they already have a high-end defense, and they won't be as hungry for a difference-maker on that side of the field.

Buffalo allowed just 294.1 yards per game this past season, second-fewest in the NFL.

Instead of going after a guy who can go after the quarterback, the Bills need to seek out a player who can help their own. Considering the lack of weapons surrounding Josh Allen, grabbing a pass-catcher makes the most sense.

This is why we're pairing Buffalo with 6'4" Arizona State product N'Keal Harry.

Harry, who amassed 73 receptions and 1,088 yards this past season, has both the size and speed to be a legitimate No. 1 receiver at the next level. He will be able to get open downfield to take advantage of Allen's strong arm. He can also be a big target on underneath routes who can help compensate for Allen's underdeveloped accuracy.

While he is no longer with the Oakland Raiders, Amari Cooper was taken to be exactly this kind of weapon for Derek Carr heading into Carr's second season. Carr took a positive step as a result and made his first Pro Bowl at the end of the year.