With the 2019 NFL Draft now about three weeks away, there’s a whole lot of rumors and innuendo taking place around the league’s water cooler.
Will the Arizona Cardinals bite the bullet and actually take Kyler Murray No. 1 overall? What are the San Francisco 49ers’ plans with the second selection? Meanwhile, the New York Giants remain the talk of the draft with two first-round picks.
It’s in this that we look at surprises to expect during Round 1 of the NFL Draft on April 25.
Josh Rosen trade: Former top-10 pick lands in best possible situation.
- We’re going to assume for a second that Arizona makes good on what seems to be the obvious and selects Kyler Murray No. 1 overall.
- This will put the Cardinals in position to entertain offers for Josh Rosen as the draft plays out.
- We predict that the potential future franchise quarterback lands as Tom Brady’s backup with the New England Patriots. He’ll give Bill Belichick that long-needed young quarterback since the team traded Jimmy Garoppolo.
- In return, Arizona receives a second and third-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. With five picks in those two rounds, New England has the ability to offer this bounty to Arizona.
Giants make a push: David Gettleman finally adds that franchise quarterback.
- Picking sixth and 17th overall, New York might be able to add the quarterback of its choosing in the draft. At issue here is the fact that history suggests trading up for a quarterback makes the most sense.
- Assuming, again, that Murray goes No. 1, this means the Giants might have to move up for Dwayne Haskins.
- Haskins is heads and shoulders better than tier-two prospects such as Drew Lock and Daniel Jones.
- The surprise here will be New York offering up the sixth pick, a second-round pick and a future first-round pick to San Francisco for the second selection.
Four quarterbacks within the top 15: Needy teams will overdraft at this position.
- Now that Murray an Haskins are the first two quarterbacks off the board with the initial selections in the draft, other teams will overdraft at this position.
- We’re now expecting four signal callers to go within the top-15 picks of the draft. It’s a continuing theme around the league. No matter where quarterbacks might stand on the big board, they are more valuable than other positions.
- It’s in this that Denver bites the bullet by taking Missouri’s Drew Lock at No. 10 overall. A quarterback in the mold of what John Elway looks for, Lock has been linked to Denver a lot in the pre-draft process.
- This leaves the quarterback-starved Redskins forced to go with Duke’s Daniel Jones at No. 15 overall. Bruce Allen has noted it’s not a necessity to add a quarterback. But given the Skins’ QB situation, that seems to be just lip service.
A star player is dealt: If Odell Beckham Jr. can be moved.
- The NFL is now in the midst of an era where trades are more prevalent than ever before. We’ve already seen multiple blockbusters involving Pro Bowlers this season.
- Expect another one during the early stages of the 2019 NFL Draft. It will include a player that has not really been bandied about in trade rumors.
- This includes Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst continuing to be proactive by offering up the 12th overall selection in the draft to the Jaguars for Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey.