NFL Draft 2019: Latest Rumors, Odds and Potential Surprises
The NFL draft can't get here soon enough for football fans.
Major League Baseball is more than a week into the 2019 season, and the NBA and NHL are just days away from the start of the playoffs.
But the NFL is certain to command center stage in the sporting world on April 25 when commissioner Roger Goodell welcomes the next class of rookies to the league.
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There are already a number of rumors surrounding players like Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Nick Bosa and Quinnen Williams in the draft, and those rumors are likely to get louder as the draft gets closer.
We offer our latest mock draft, as well as rumors, odds and potential surprises.
2019 NFL Mock Draft
1. Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
2. San Francisco 49ers: Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State
3. New York Jets: Josh Allen, DE/OLB, Kentucky
4. Oakland Raiders: Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State
6. New York Giants: Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State
7. Jacksonville Jaguars: D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss
8. Detroit Lions: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
9. Buffalo Bills: Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida
10. Denver Broncos: Rashan Gary, DE, Michigan
11. Cincinnati Bengals: T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa
12. Green Bay Packers: Noah Fant, TE, Iowa
13. Miami Dolphins: Drew Lock, QB, Missouri
14. Atlanta Falcons: Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama
15. Washington Redskins: Devin White, LB, LSU
16. Carolina Panthers: Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson
17. New York Giants (via Cleveland Browns): Cody Ford, G/T, Oklahoma
18. Minnesota Vikings: Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State
19. Tennessee Titans: Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Brian Burns, DE, Florida State
21. Seattle Seahawks: Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, S, Florida
22. Baltimore Ravens: Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State
23. Houston Texans: Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
24. Oakland Raiders (via Chicago Bears): Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia
25. Philadelphia Eagles: Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia
26. Indianapolis Colts: Jerry Tillery, DL, Notre Dame
27. Oakland Raiders (via Dallas Cowboys): Devin Bush, LB, Michigan
28. Los Angeles Chargers: Kaleb McGary, OT, Washington
29. Kansas City Chiefs: Greedy Williams, CB, LSU
30. Green Bay Packers (via New Orleans Saints): Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama
31. Los Angeles Rams: Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson
32. New England Patriots: Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
Murray has shot to the top of the draft board, and the expectation is that the Arizona Cardinals will select the Oklahoma quarterback with the No. 1 pick.
As Murray was contemplating his football future weeks and months ago, the idea of Arizona selecting him with the top pick started to pick up steam.
New head coach Kliff Kingsbury is a huge Murray fan, and the quarterback's sensational mobility and arm talent could make him the ideal quarterback to run the new head coach's offense.
After Murray eschewed his baseball option—he had been drafted and signed with the Oakland A's—the thought was that the Cardinals would trade second-year quarterback Josh Rosen so they would have a clean situation for the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner.
However, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Cardinals were thinking about drafting Murray and keeping Rosen.
"They could, in fact, keep both quarterbacks until they decide not to," Rapoport said (h/t The Heat Index Column of Azcentral.com). "They are not going to give Josh Rosen away. This is a guy they really, really like, so it is going to take a very, very good offer to trade Rosen."
The Azcentral.com piece also quoted several other sources, including Pro Football Focus, The Ringer and Touchdowns Wire, that also stated the case for drafting Murray and possibly keeping Rosen.
Long-time draft observers know that as the draft gets closer, the louder and more voluminous rumors are often subterfuge leaked by teams that are only looking to enhance their status.
Early in draft season, Ohio State's Nick Bosa was the primary name expected to be the No. 1 draft pick. While dropping to the No. 2 spot and the San Francisco 49ers would seem to be the logical move, that may not be the case.
Walter Football draft expert Charlie Campbell went on KNBR's Gary & Larry show (Gary Radnich and Larry Krueger) earlier this week and told the hosts that there are a number of individuals inside the Niner organization that are a lot more excited about Alabama's Quinnen Williams than they are about Bosa.
The KNBR website transcribed Campbell's remarks on their website.
"I spoke with people high up with the 49ers at the Combine, and they were just gushing about Quinnen WIlliams. They felt Bosa was an excellent player, a bit of safe pick, probably more of a position of need heading into free agency given how good DeForest Buckner was for the team last year. But they just had more emotion in the voice, more excitement for Quinnen Williams. They felt his upside was just off the charts when you consider last year was really his first season of playing time in the SEC, to dominate it in the fashion he did, and really moving inside, adding the weight to move inside, they felt the sky is the limit for what this guy could be."
Bosa sat out the majority of the college football season after suffering an early injury. Penciled in as the No. 1 draft choice early on, Bosa's decision was driven by not wanting to hurt his draft status. He played just three games in 2018 and had 14 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
Williams had 71 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks while playing 15 games for the Crimson Tide, and his rise up the draft ladder is largely based on the improvement that he demonstrated during the season for head coach Nick Saban.
Bosa's teammate, Dwayne Haskins, is expected to be the second quarterback selected following Murray. The New York Giants have been tabbed to select the strong-armed Ohio State quarterback with the No. 6 pick overall.
However, ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay reported on the network's Get Up! show that the Giants are "not in love" with Haskins and could trade up if Big Blue does not select him.
"If any of these quarterbacks are going to fall a little bit, it might be Haskins. It will be interesting to see. I keep hearing the Giants may not be in love with Haskins. I put him there because it's kind of the only place in the top 10 I felt good about putting him. I do think, ultimately, he'll wind up going somewhere in that range. But it may be a team moving up. The Giants could just pass on him and wind up taking Drew Lock a little bit later with that 17th pick."
Odds for No. 1 Pick (Odds via Oddschecker)
Kyler Murray (1-4)
Nick Bosa (13-5)
Quinnen Williams (14-1)
Josh Allen (14-1)
Whether the Cardinals hold on to Rosen or not, it's likely that Murray will be the No. 1 pick. While Kingsbury is a big fan of the Oklahoma quarterback, the selection belongs to general manager Steve Keim.
If he believes in Murray as much as the coach, it seems certain the 21-year-old will don an Arizona jersey and cap on draft day. If not, Murray is still likely to retain that No. 1 position as Keim could trade down.
Murray has the special characteristics of a No. 1 pick, and he will be the No. 1 pick on draft day, whether it belongs to the Cardinals or not.
Prediction: Belichick makes a big move
The New England Patriots have the No. 32 pick in the first round, but the team suffered a huge loss when tight end Rob Gronkowski decided to retire.
Will Bill Belichick just sit idly by and go with relative unknowns Jacob Hollister and Stephen Anderson at the tight end position?
That seems unlikely. Look for Belichick to pull off a surprise move and trade into a position to draft a tight end like T.J. Hockenson or Noah Fant. Both tight ends are from Iowa and are likely to go in the top half of the first round.
While the Cardinals holding on to Rosen while drafting Murray and the 49ers passing on Bosa and going for Williams would be surprising, leave it to Belichick to steal headlines on draft day.
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