NFL Draft 2019: Recapping a shocking day one
April 26, 2019 | Sports,
By Logan Franz
The 2019 NFL Draft began with the First Round on Thursday night in Nashville, Tennessee. There were so many twists and turns to make it exciting for any fans but like always, there were winners and losers. Some teams took advantage of opportunities and others failed to.
One of the biggest winners of the first round is Washington. They let the draft play out in front of them and didn’t panic about their guy going early and he didn’t. They were able to land Dwayne Haskins, who was their favorite quarterback at pick No. 15 and then traded back up to pick, and took Montez Sweat at No. 26 out of Mississippi State. Sweat fell down draft boards when reports of a misdiagnosed heart condition surfaced.
Of the losers in the first round, it’s hard to not choose the Giants. They picked Daniel Jones at pick No.6 with Missouri’s Drew Lock and Haskins still on the board. Later, they took Dexter Lawrence at No. 17, and traded up to No. 30 to take DeAndre Baker. Baker is the saving grace of this first round. Lawrence could be a playmaker, but Baker is a talented cornerback and to see him go at pick 30 could turn out to be a steal for the Giants. They believe Jones is their franchise quarterback, and largely, the quality of their draft hinges on that pick.
San Francisco is also a winner of the first round. They had one job and they completed it. When the Cardinals take Murray, draft Nick Bosa. It wasn’t flashy and it made the most sense but they took care of business and Bosa can help make that front seven dangerous along with players like Dee Ford and Solomon Thomas. This is the time for Lynch to use his momentum to improve into tomorrow.
Lastly, there was a lot of buzz surrounding the Raiders and their three first round picks. They ended up picking DE Clelin Ferrell with the No. 4, running back Josh Jacobs at 24 and safety Jonathan Abraham at 27. And while the first two of those picks aren’t necessarily bad, the Raiders could have done so much more and fill bigger holes with more talented players. They had the talent on the board and they didn’t take advantage of it. General manager Mike Mayock and head coach John Gruden’s first draft together is not off to a very hot start.
There were plenty of surprises in this draft. Most notably, talent that was left on the board, such as Lock, wide reciever D.K Metcalf, cornerback Byron Murphy and offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor. These players would figure to be some of the first off the board when the second round kicks off. In place of those left on the board, players were taken like tackle Kaleb McGary, guard Chris Lindstrom, wide reciever N’Keal Harry and defensive end L.J. Collier.
It just goes to prove how unpredictable the draft is. Fans and analysts alike will try to predict it every year, especially the first round, but it never goes according to plan, and that’s what makes it so exciting.
Edited by Garrett Jones | gcjh23@mail.missouri.edu