1. Arizona Cardinals - Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State - There are arguably bigger holes on the Arizona Cardinals roster to fill, as they are currently in a complete rebuild. Edge rusher is not atop that list, but the Cardinals simply cannot pass up on the talent of Bosa. The Cardinals will be able to line him up opposite Chandler Jones, which would be a scary sight for any opposing quarterback.
2. San Francisco 49ers - Josh Allen, DE Kentucky - The 49ers are in desperate need of a pass rusher and that is exactly what Josh Allen is. Many would suggest that Quinnen Williams is the second best player in the draft, but the 49ers’ best defensive player is already a DT, DeForest Buckner. Allen could be the best pure pass rusher in this draft and he cannot be passed up at number two by a team who needs to fill that roll.
3. New York Jets - Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama - Just as suggest about the previous two picks, all of the teams picking towards the top of the draft have many holes to fill. However, the Jets’ front office cannot pass up on what many would presume to be a value pick in Williams at three. Imagine a defensive front with Leonard Williams and Quinnen Williams. Scary. The Jets could very well switch to a 4-3 defense under new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams as well.
4. Oakland Raiders - Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson - The Raiders have three first round selections and about 75 holes to fill on their roster. Last season their pass rush was one of the worst in the league and that needs to be addressed atop the draft with their first selection of 2019. Many could say Ferrell is a reach here, but the Raiders need to go best defensive player at this position and I’d personally argue, at this time of the draft process, it’s Ferrell.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Greedy Williams, CB, LSU - The Tampa Bay Bucs traded back a year ago and then proceeded to pass on Derwin James, who is already an elite level defensive back following his rookie season. The Bucs desperately need defensive help, especially in the secondary, so targeting the best defensive back in this draft would be smart; which in my opinion is Williams.
6. New York Giants - Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State - Is Dwayne Haskins going to be on the board at six? No. For the sake of my mock drafts, I do not like to include trades because they are 100-percent unpredictable. With that being said, the first quarterback off the board, no matter where it happens, will be Haskins. I’m a big Haskins fan. He has all of the tools to make it happen at the next level. Six-foot-three, 220 pounds, a rocket of an arm, high quarterback IQ, you name it. I really hope the Giants are the ones trading up to grab this guy because he and Saquon on the same team for years to come would be too much fun.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars - Daniel Jones, QB, Duke - Daniel Jones is a guy who will be making his way into the top ten the further along we get into this draft process. He has a career completion percentage at Duke of just under 60-percent in three years as the Blue Devil’s starter, which is a bit alarming. One could predict Kyler Murray here, but I cannot see Tom Coughlin pulling the trigger on him. Plus, the Jaguars love to reach on “traditional” looking quarterbacks in years past (ex. Blake Bortles and Blaine Gabbert.)
8. Detroit Lions - Devin White, LB, LSU - The Lions could go any position in the front seven on the defense at number eight. Sporting one of the league’s worst linebacking corps, who probably cannot cover me if they had to, the Lions could look to take the draft’s best linebacker in Devin White. He’d slot in right away as the leader of the defense, something that the Lions’ have been lacking for a few seasons now.
9. Buffalo Bills - Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama - The Bills need weapons, but reaching for a skill position player in this draft at nine would be a mistake on their end. With that being said, one of their biggest weaknesses would have to be the offensive line and they may have the opportunity to snag the draft’s best in Jonah Williams at nine.
10. Denver Broncos - Rashan Gary, DE/DT, Michigan - The nation’s top recruit coming out of high school rounds out the top ten in my mock. Gary has been somewhat of a disappointment during his time in Michigan. However, the talent is still there to be a top ten NFL pick and the Broncos need to address their front seven, which struggled to stop the run. With new head coach Vic Fangio leading the way, he could spend his first pick bolstering the defensive side of the ball.
11. Cincinnati Bengals - Mack Wilson, LB, Alabama - Two linebackers that aren’t edge rushers taken in the top 11? Sure. The Bengals have a few holes to fill, mainly on it’s offensive line and linebacking core. Without much of a offensive line market in this draft, they could turn their attention to the linebacking group, which is one of the worst in the league. Wilson is just as good in coverage as he is getting forward to stop the run, which is a tough find in today’s game.
12. Green Bay Packers - Jachai Polite, OLB, Florida - What’s one position the Packers need every offseason? Pass rusher. What do they fail to add each offseason? A pass rusher. They’re in line to snag one of the draft’s best pure pass rushers in Polite at twelve. Polite would be an immediate upgrade for the Packers defense and would be an instant plug-and-play.
13. Miami Dolphins - Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma - Well it’s finally here. The question of the offseason is where will Murray go in the draft? Murray could eventually make his way to a top ten pick, but at this point of the process he’s on the outside looking in. Murray is so hard to predict. Does he have the talent and skill set? 100-percent. However, he’s probably a true 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds. If we take a look at the other “small” quarterbacks in the league we have Drew Brees (6-foot, 210 pounds), Russell Wilson (5-foot-11, 215 pounds) and Baker Mayfield (6-foot-1, 215 pounds). Murray lacks that bulkier frame that the “smaller” quarterbacks of the NFL have. He’s a good 20-30 pounds behind a few of them. I know that height isn’t a factor really anymore in the NFL as offensive schemes can get anyone with talent involved, I feel that his small build is more of a factory. However, he does possess that top tier baseball talent, much like a Russell Wilson, which will allow him to avoid hits and get down when needed. I think Murray can work in the NFL, but the question is, for how long?
14. Atlanta Falcons - Ed Oliver, DT, Houston - Once presumed a top five pick, Oliver is finally off the board to the Falcons at 14. He has all the talent you need, but he’s very undersized. He’s listed at 290 but played closer to 280 this season. He’s struggled to maintain his weight at 290, which isn’t a promising sign when NFL defensive tackles range from 310-320. Besides the weight, he has all of the skills to exceed at the next level. Aaron Donald too was undersized coming into the league, but he was able to add the needed weight. Oliver has yet to show that he can do that.
15. Carolina Panthers - Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State - Julius Peppers will be 39 come the season and is entering free agency. Opposite him Mario Addison is 31 as well. It’s about time the Panthers address their aging defensive end position and bring in some fresh guys. Sweat has the size and length at 6-foot-6, 245 pounds paired with great athleticism to get the job done.
16. Washington Redskins - Drew Lock, QB, Missouri - Do I like Drew Lock? No. Do I think he’s a first round talent? Again, no. But he is a quarterback so that automatically has him jump into the first round. The Redskins know how desperate they were for quarterback help after Alex Smith went down with a gruesome injury, shuffling through a slew of options. They even brought Josh Johnson out of retirement to play for them who hadn’t taken a snap in about five years. Alex Smith’s injury could see his career potentially over, or at least see him out for a portion of, if not all of the 2019 season. They could go the free agency route but what fun is that when writing up a mock?
17. Cleveland Browns - N’Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State - I believe D.K. Metcalf is the superior of the wide receiver talent in this draft but with the history of a neck injury, teams could pass on him due to the risk. Harry has great size at 6-foot-4 and could be a great compliment to Jarvis Landry, who John Dorsey brought in last season. The Browns are definitely trending in the right direction and need to provide more weapons for sophomore Baker Mayfield.
18. Minnesota Vikings - Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss - At 6-foot-6 Little is far from little. There would be no surprise here if the Vikings were to take an offensive lineman, as they had one of the worst offensive lines in the game. The Vikings have invested a lot of money in Kirk Cousins and have an emerging star at runningback in Dalvin Cook. They need to secure their investments and provide Cook with more space to work by investing in the line.
19. Tennessee Titans - Cody Ford, OT, Oklahoma - There was a game this past season that Marcus Mariota was sacked 11 times. The Titans need to keep him upright and keep him on the field the entire season. Ford is a great addition here as he can play both tackle and guard at a high level. A versatile lineman that can be rotated from position to position in the NFL is a rarity and something any team would love to have.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers - Byron Murphy, CB, Washington - The second cornerback off the board comes 15 picks after the first one is taken. One could argue that Deandre Baker of Georgia is the better prospect than Murphy, but I believe Murphy’s athleticism puts him above Baker. The Steelers need help defensively. They need linebacking help, but with White and Mack off the board, there isn’t another worth taking in the first round.
21. Seattle Seahawks - Noah Fant, TE, Iowa - Iowa is slowly turning into tightend U. After George Kittle, Fant could be the next big thing. It’s obvious that Russell Wilson is missing Jimmy Graham, who had over 95 receptions in his last two of the three seasons he spent in Seattle. Giving Wilson a reliable target in terms of Fant would be a brilliant move by the Seahawks.
22. Baltimore Ravens - Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama - The Ravens are a running team, there’s no getting around that. They need to bring in a true running back to compliment Lamar Jackson if they’re going to make this offense work. They did well last season with Gus Edwards and Kenneth Dixon at times, but having that three down back carrying the ball 20+ times is something that is needed.
23. Houston Texans - Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida - The Texans' offensive line was one of the worst in the entire league last season. It’s amazing that they were able to do what they did with as bad as it was. With that being said, snagging the best offensive lineman on the board at the time of their 23rd pick will be pretty much a no brainier.
24. Oakland Raiders (via Chicago Bears) - D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss - I think the Raiders would be the team to take a risk on taking Metcalf in the first round despite his previous neck injury. The Raiders need something at every position so it’s hard to predict what they’ll actually do. I have them selecting an edge rusher in Clelin Ferrell with the fifth overall pick so helping the offense in the later part of the fist is not out of the question.
25. Philadelphia Eagles - Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia - The Eagles have had a rotating door in the secondary for a few seasons now. Baker is arguably the most developed of the first round secondary players, but doesn’t have the athleticism of a Greedy Williams or a Byron Murphy.
26. Indianapolis Colts - Kelvin Harmon, WR, NC State - The Colts have fixed their offensive line, improved their defense and have Andrew Luck firing on all cylinders. Now it’s time to give the man some weapons. With T.Y. Hilton and Eric Ebron already in the lineup, adding a big body receiver such as Harmon (6-foot-3, 214 pounds) would be a great compliment to the receiving core. When Hilton missed a three game stretch, the Colts’ receivers recorded 19 drops.
27. Oakland Raiders (via Dallas Cowboys) - Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama - With their third first round pick, the Raiders pick up the top ranked safety in this draft in Thompson. Through their three picks I have them going defense on two. Thompson is a great ball hawking safety and it’s not like the Raiders don’t have a weakness in its secondary.
28. Los Angeles Chargers - Jeffery Simmons, DT, Mississippi State - The Chargers are set on the edges with Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. Adding a big run-stuffing defensive tackle in the middle would be great. They’ve been subject to the run this past season, despite shutting the Ravens down in the playoffs. Simmons has explosion off the snap and is very disruptive in the backfield.
29. Kansas City Chiefs - Amani Oruwariye, CB, Penn State - Oruwariye is someone I think that can start climbing the boards as he currently has a second round grade. The Chiefs need secondary help desperately. They have been exposed time and time again throughout the season and their poor coverage play cost them a trip to the Superbowl.
30. Green Bay Packers (via New Orleans Saints) - Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson - The Packers double down on defense with their two first round picks. I projected the Packers to go with an edge rusher with their 13th overall pick and will go with Lawrence, who I think could end up being one of the best defensive tackles taken in this very impressive draft class.
31. Los Angeles Rams - Oshane Ximines, OLB, Old Dominion - Old Dominion’s first every player drafted into the NFL could come in the first round. The Rams made a move for Dante Fowler at the trade deadline because they were in need of a pass rusher. Fowler is a free agent and could leave, leaving the Rams with a hole to fill. If Fowler does stay, the Rams still lack depth at the position.
32. New England Patriots - Irv Smith Jr., TE, Alabama - Rob Gronkowski could be on his way out this offseason. If he does return, he’s still just a shell of his old self. The tightend position is crucial in the Patriots’ offense. They could look to bring in Gronk’s replacement or allow Smith to play with Gronk for the season.