NFL Mock Draft 2019: Updated Projections for Top 32 Picks

It's been an eventful few days in the NFL draft world. Former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray took another step toward committing to the NFL by hiring a football agent. Former Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons tore his ACL while training for pre-draft workouts, and the first-round landscape looks different than it did just days ago.

That first-round picture, of course, rarely stays static for long. Below, you'll find an updated mock draft based on factors like prospect potential, team needs and recent events, folowed by some of the most recent draft-related buzz.

2019 NFL Mock Draft Round 1

1. Arizona Cardinals: Josh Allen, Edge, Kentucky

2. San Francisco 49ers: Nick Bosa, Edge, Ohio State

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

4. Oakland Raiders: Rashan Gary, Edge, Michigan

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Greedy Williams, CB, LSU

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

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Drew Lock, QB, Missouri

8. Detroit Lions: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston

9. Buffalo Bills: Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama

10. Denver Broncos: D.K. Metcalf, WR, Mississippi

11. Cincinnati Bengals: Devin White, LB, LSU

12. Green Bay Packers: Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson

13. Miami Dolphins: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma

14. Atlanta Falcons: Clelin Ferrell, Edge, Clemson

15. Washington Redskins: Brian Burns, Edge, Florida State

16. Carolina Panthers: Yodny Cajuste, OT, West Virginia

17. Cleveland Browns: Byron Murphy, CB, Washington

18. Minnesota Vikings: Cody Ford, OL, Oklahoma

19. Tennessee Titans: Montez Sweat, Edge, Mississippi State

20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Dre'Mont Jones, DT, Ohio State

21. Seattle Seahawks: Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama

22. Baltimore Ravens: N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State

23. Houston Texans: Greg Little, OT, Mississippi

24. Oakland Raiders (from Chicago): Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia

25. Philadelphia Eagles: Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson

26. Indianapolis Colts: Jachai Polite, Edge, Florida

27. Oakland Raiders (from Dallas): Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama

28. Los Angeles Chargers: Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida

29. Kansas City Chiefs: Taylor Rapp, S, Washington

30. Green Bay Packers (from New Orleans): T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa

31. Los Angeles Rams: Devin Bush, LB, Michigan

32. New England Patriots: Noah Fant, TE, Iowa

Simmons' Injury Will Impact Draft

Simmons was projected to be a first-round pick at minimum, and there's a good chance he would have gone in the top half of Round 1 if healthy. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the fourth-highest-rated interior defender in college last season. 

Guys like Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh and Grady Jarrett have raised the profile of interior defenders in recent years. While teams at the top of the draft will still be leaning toward pass-rushers, prospects like Simmons and Alabama's Quinnen Williams will be coveted.

Someone is still going to draft Simmons—probably highly, but probably not in the first round. His chances of seeing the field as a rookie are slim.

This means that teams looking for interior defenders will slide their sights further down their position boards in Round 1 or wait until Day 2 to address the position.

Whichever team pulls the trigger on Simmons, meanwhile, will likely get a top-15 talent on Day 2. It just won't have that talent until the 2020 season.

Broncos to Trade for Flacco

The Denver Broncos took a chance on quarterback Case Keenum last offseason. After just one year with him under center, the Broncos are looking to move on.

Denver has regularly been linked to quarterbacks in mock drafts, but it may now be looking in a different direction in Round 1.

According to Albert Breer, the Broncos plan to trade for longtime Baltimore Ravens starter Joe Flacco:

Naturally, this means that Keenum is now expendable:

Of course, adding Flacco doesn't guarantee that the Broncos won't still draft a quarterback early. Flacco has three years remaining on his contract, but he's also 34 years old and has merely played at an above-average level over the last few years.

At some point, Denver needs to draft a long-term solution at the quarterback position. However, it may be wise for the Broncos to wait for a deeper quarterback class. There is no clear-cut No. 1 prospect this year, and if one does emerge, he isn't likely to last until Denver's 10th overall selection.

Instead, the Broncos should consider getting Flacco a legitimate No. 1 receiver, something he rarely had in Baltimore. Denver's defense is aging, but it's still a playoff-caliber unit. If Denver can set Flacco up for success, it can get back into the postseason this year.

Cardinals Sticking By Rosen, for Now

The Arizona Cardinals are even less likely to use an early pick on a quarterback than Denver is. Arizona used its first-round pick on former UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen just last year, and the team is publicly backing him now.

"Josh is our guy," new head coach Kliff Kingsbury recently told reporters.

Kingsbury and the Cardinals likely wouldn't be defending Rosen if the coach hadn't previously professed his love of Murray.

"I would take him with the first pick in the draft if I could," Kingsbury said back when he was still the head coach at Texas Tech, per KLBK's Eric Kelly.

Of course, Kingsbury couldn't have possibly known then that he would end up holding the first overall pick in the draft. It's unlikely that he would trade Rosen now in order to actually take Murray No. 1 overall—that first pick and the unknown that comes with it holds more value to a quarterback-needy team.

However, it isn't outside the realm of possibility. If the Cardinals aren't sold on Rosen and can get a first-round pick back for him, this is a move that could still potentially happen. For the Cardinals to admit it, though, would only hurt Rosen's value. Therefore, publicly backing him now is the only logical move.