2019 NFL Draft: Odds and Predictions for This Year's Star Prospects
April 23, 2019
The speculation surrounding what the Arizona Cardinals will do with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft ends Thursday night in Nashville, Tennessee.
Most of the NFL draft experts have the Cardinals taking Kyler Murray with the top selection, but there is a small chance they go in a different direction.
Because there are so many stellar defensive prospects in the draft class, the Cardinals could choose to improve their defense instead of taking a quarterback in the first round for the second consecutive year.
The Cardinals' decision will affect the direction of the first round.
There will likely be a run on defensive players if Murray is the No. 1 pick, but quarterback-needy teams could look to move up for him if he falls past the Cardinals.
2019 NFL 1st-Round Mock Draft
1. Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
2. San Francisco 49ers: Nick Bosa, EDGE, Ohio State
3. New York Jets: Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama
4. Oakland Raiders: Josh Allen, EDGE, Kentucky
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Devin White, LB, LSU
6. New York Giants: Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida
7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Rashan Gary, EDGE, Michigan
8. Detroit Lions: Montez Sweat, EDGE, Mississippi State
9. Buffalo Bills: Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State
10. Denver Broncos: Drew Lock, QB, Missouri
11. Cincinnati Bengals: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
12. Green Bay Packers: Brian Burns, EDGE, Florida State
13. Miami Dolphins: Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State
14. Atlanta Falcons: Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson
15. Washington Redskins: D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss
16. Carolina Panthers: Devin Bush, LB, Michigan
17. New York Giants (from Cleveland): Daniel Jones, QB, Duke
18. Minnesota Vikings: Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama
19. Tennessee Titans: T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Greedy Williams, CB, LSU
21. Seattle Seahawks: Cody Ford, OT, Oklahoma
22. Baltimore Ravens: Clelin Ferrell, EDGE, Clemson
23. Houston Texans: Garrett Bradbury, C, NC State
24. Oakland Raiders (from Chicago): Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma
25. Philadelphia Eagles: Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
26. Indianapolis Colts: A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss
27. Oakland Raiders (from Dallas): Noah Fant, TE, Iowa
28. Los Angeles Chargers: Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson
29. Kansas City Chiefs: Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia
30. Green Bay Packers (from New Orleans): Dalton Risner, OT, Kansas State
31. Los Angeles Rams: Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame
32. New England Patriots: Rock Ya-Sin, CB, Temple
NFL Draft Odds
No. 1 Overall Pick
Kyler Murray (-600; bet $600 to win $100)
Quinnen Williams (+350; bet $100 to win $350)
Nick Bosa (+370)
Dwayne Haskins (+1600)
Josh Allen (+2000)
Ed Oliver (+2500)
Predictions for Star Prospects
Kyler Murray
By now, we all know the connections between Murray and the Cardinals.
If first-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury believes Murray is the perfect fit for his offense, he should convince general manager Steve Keim to make the pick.
However, if Kingsbury thinks he can work his offense with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen at the helm, the Cardinals could look elsewhere with their opening selection.
But given how much talk there has been about Murray joining the Cardinals, it is hard to believe he won't be the pick Thursday night in Nashville.
Murray has the explosiveness in the pocket that fits Kingsbury's offense, and he played in a similar system at Oklahoma.
There is also the possibility of the Cardinals trading down, but the only team with the firepower capable of actually making a deal for the top selection appears to be the Oakland Raiders, who have three first-round picks.
We have seen the Raiders do some wild things in previous drafts, but with three chances to improve their roster in the first round, it's hard to imagine general manager Mike Mayock wasting them in a trade when he can improve a few aspects of the team's roster.
Prediction: Murray goes No. 1 to Arizona.
Quinnen Williams
Outside of Murray, Quinnen Williams might be the most hyped prospect in the draft class.
The defensive tackle out of Alabama could land at No. 1 if the Cardinals don't pick Murray, or he could fall as far as No. 4 to the Raiders because of the San Francisco 49ers' and New York Jets' needs.
Even though the San Francisco 49ers have a good amount of defensive tackles already on their roster, general manager John Lynch is still impressed with Williams, per NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco.
"He's an excellent football player," Lynch said. "The season he had may have been as good a college football season as I've ever seen. It was just dominant, and to think that was his first year playing nose tackle, it's a great story."
According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the Jets believe Williams is destined for stardom as well.
But with support reportedly growing inside the Jets organization to take Ed Oliver, Williams might be available at No. 4 for the Raiders, who could use an impact run-stopper in the middle of their defensive line.
Josh Allen could be a better pick for the Jets since they are in need of a edge-rusher, but Williams would be a great fit in defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' defense.
The 49ers should take a serious look at Williams, but Nick Bosa looks like the better fit for them, which means the path is clear for the Jets to select the defensive lineman out of Alabama.
Prediction: Williams lands at No. 3 with the New York Jets.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.