Mel Kiper, Todd McShay Both Pick Kyler Murray 1st in Dueling 2019 NFL Mock Draft

The Arizona Cardinals are going to select Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the first overall pick in this year's NFL draft.

Well, at least according to the dueling mock draft just released by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay. Both projected Murray to the Cardinals, with McShay not buying into the possibility that the Cardinals could draft a player like Nick Bosa instead. 

"Arizona is putting up smokescreens, but I'm not changing here," he wrote. "Murray is a perfect fit for what coach Kliff Kingsbury wants to do."

Kiper added: "It has been a month since the combine, and I still can't find anyone close to the situation saying Arizona prefers keeping Josh Rosen over taking Murray here. Remember, though: This is lying season. Murray's explosive athleticism would spark this docile offense."

The Cardinals have met with Bosa, but few people around the NFL seem to believe they are doing so with the intention of drafting the talented edge-rusher. 

As B/R's Mike Freeman reported Wednesday, "many teams believe the Cardinals' interest in Bosa is a well-executed smokescreen designed to lure a team into giving up a treasure trove of draft assets to move up and get Bosa." 

He added:

"Still, the tea leaves are telling us the Cards are looking to draft a quarterback. This week, ESPN's Chris Mortensen added another piece to the puzzle when he reported that Washington might be a destination for Rosen. This type of information doesn't get out by accident. It feels like the Cardinals are trying to let other teams know Rosen is available, and they wouldn't be floating that unless they were leaning heavily toward Murray."

B/R's Matt Miller reported on March 25 in his mock draft, "Everyone in the NFL was shouting it from the rooftops in Indianapolis: Murray is the Cardinals' guy."

So the smart money continues to be Murray landing in Arizona and the Cardinals trading Josh Rosen.

As for McShay and Kiper, they continued to agree in their dueling mock draft, with both projecting Bosa No. 2 overall to the San Francisco 49ers. No surprise there—Bosa is widely considered the best edge-rusher in this draft class.

The pair also projected Kentucky edge-rusher Josh Allen No. 3 overall to the New York Jets, Alabama defensive lineman Quinnen Williams to the Oakland Raiders at No. 4, LSU linebacker Devin White to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 5 and Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins to the New York Giants at No. 6.

With trades always a major possibility at the draft, however, it will be fascinating to see how the board changes as draft picks start changing hands.