NFL Mock Draft 2019: Breaking Down Early Forecast for Entire 1st Round

The NFL is in a funny place regarding its 2019 draft.

With each conference finalist sporting a top-four scoring offense, this continues to look like more like an offense-driven league. But the strength of this draft class resides on defense. Don't believe me? Go check out the big board of Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, who has a single offensive prospect ranked among his top 13 (Alabama offensive lineman Jonah Williams).

So, how will teams respond? Is it better to ignore the rankings and grab as many weapons for the passing game as possible, or is best-player-available still the preferred draft strategy?

See below to find out, as we predict the draft's first 32 picks before highlighting three names to know.

2019 NFL Mock Draft

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

2. San Francisco 49ers: Josh Allen, DE/OLB, Kentucky

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

4. Oakland Raiders: Greedy Williams, CB, LSU

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama

6. New York Giants: Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma

8. Detroit Lions: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston

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

10. Denver Broncos: Daniel Jones, QB, Duke

11. Cincinnati Bengals: Devin White, LB, LSU

12. Green Bay Packers: Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson

13. Miami Dolphins: Will Grier, QB, West Virginia

14. Atlanta Falcons: Brian Burns, DE, Florida State

15. Washington Redskins: Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama

16. Carolina Panthers: Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State

17. Cleveland Browns: Yodny Cajuste, OT, West Virginia

18. Minnesota Vikings: Cody Ford, OG, Oklahoma

19. Tennessee Titans: D.K. Metcalf, WR, Mississippi

20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Devin Bush, LB, Michigan

21. Seattle Seahawks: Jachai Polite, OLB, Florida

22. Baltimore Ravens: Rashan Gary, DE, Michigan

23. Houston Texans: Byron Murphy, CB, Washington

24. Oakland Raiders (via Chicago Bears): Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State

25. Philadelphia Eagles: Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia

26. Indianapolis Colts: Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson

27. Oakland Raiders (via Dallas Cowboys): Noah Fant, TE, Iowa

28. Los Angeles Chargers: Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame

29. New England Patriots: Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma 

30. Los Angeles Rams: Zach Allen, DE, Boston College

31. Kansas City Chiefs: Jaylon Ferguson, DE, Louisiana Tech

32. Green Bay Packers (via New Orleans Saints): T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa

Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama

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While Nick Bosa is still the player most commonly mocked at No. 1, Quinnen Williams has claimed that spot in certain draft projections. It doesn't hurt that Williams might fill more of a need than Bosa in Arizona, but this has more to do with the fact Williams looks like he could be an elite prospect in his own right.

Williams is as disruptive an interior defensive linemen as you'll find at this level, almost college football's version of Aaron Donald. A redshirt sophomore, Williams recorded 3.5 tackles for loss in the season-opener and never slowed down. By year's end, he'd tallied 71 total tackles with 19.5 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks.

"Probably the best I've seen this fall," one NFL scout told ESPN's Alex Scarborough. "He understands leverage and uses it against you. He has exceptional hands. Outstanding football awareness. You just turn on the tape and he's always around the ball making a play: There he is again!"

Williams' ability to get after the passer from his interior spot is both special and critical in today's game. We might not have him first on this mock, but we'd have no complaints if the Cardinals went that direction.

Ed Oliver, DT, Houston

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If you told us in September that a defensive tackle would rival Bosa for the No. 1 pick, Oliver would've been the obvious choice. In fact, oddsmakers liked Oliver even more than Bosa back then.

Now, most mocks have Oliver slipping the past top five. So, what happened?

There are questions about his size and whether he'll fit with every NFL scheme. Some aren't fans of his attitude. He also lost a chunk of the 2018 season to a knee injury, which could open questions about durability.

But these are relative questions, considering we're still talking about our eighth overall pick. He's an impact defender whether he's bursting through the line in hot pursuit of the quarterback or chasing down opposing running backs. He's loaded with physical tools and knows how to use them. Over three seasons at Houston, he recorded 192 total tackles with 53.0 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks and five forced fumbles.

Will Grier, QB, West Virginia

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The 2018 college football season wasn't quite what it could have been for Will Grier. The campaign itself was strong but the ending was a letdown.

Despite being prominently on the Heisman Trophy radar, he wasn't one of the three players taken to New York City for the award ceremony. Grier didn't get a bowl-game sendoff, either, though that was his own choice. He made the (smart) decision that draft preparation and injury avoidance were more important than playing in the Camping World Bowl.

All that said, Grier's 2019 has a chance to be special. He's on a short list of quarterbacks under first-round consideration, and his body of work speaks for itself. He might be erratic and lacking ideal arm strength, but those things were true during his two seasons as West Virginia's starter, when he threw for 7,354 yards and had 71 touchdowns against 20 interceptions.