NFL Draft 2019 Rumors: Byron Murphy 'Heavy Favorite' to Cardinals at No. 33

Washington cornerback Byron Murphy is reportedly the "heavy favorite" to go No. 33 overall to the Arizona Cardinals with the first pick in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft on Friday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Schefter's report came after ESPN's Chris Mortensen tweeted his belief that Murphy would be a "very happy young man" at the start of the second round.

If Murphy goes 33rd to the Cardinals, he will be the second cornerback off the board behind only Georgia's Deandre Baker, who went 30th overall to the New York Giants in the first round.

Murphy seemed somewhat disappointed about not going in the first round, but he expressed optimism at the end of the night:

Arizona could be a perfect landing spot for Murphy given the positional need and who he can learn from. Aside from No. 1 corner Patrick Peterson, the Cardinals undoubtedly have some question marks at cornerback, and Murphy may be the answer.

Peterson is one of the best cornerbacks of his era with eight Pro Bowl nods and three All-Pro first-team selections. He is approaching 29 years of age, though, and has just two years remaining on his contract.

If the Cardinals take Murphy, he will have the benefit of learning from and potentially starting across from Peterson before eventually taking his place as Arizona's lockdown corner.

Murphy was a stud at Washington last season, as he was named to the All-Pac-12 first team after registering 58 tackles, 13 passes defended and four interceptions as a redshirt sophomore.

In his Day 2 mock draft, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projected the Cards to take Texas A&M offensive lineman Erik McCoy 33rd overall with Murphy falling all the way to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 53.

Murphy is one of several quality corners remaining on the board, including LSU's Greedy Williams, Temple's Rock Ya-Sin, Michigan State's Justin Layne and Kentucky's Lonnie Johnson Jr.

If Arizona nabs Murphy at No. 33, it will have a potential future anchor for its secondary after selecting quarterback Kyler Murray first overall to lead the offense.