2019 NFL Mock Draft: Senior Bowl bumps stock for some top prospects
11. player. 56. . LB. LSU. Devin White
The Cincinnati Bengals get one of the best all-around linebackers in the 2019 class in Devin White, who made plays all over the field this past season for the LSU Tigers.
He isn’t quite as good of a prospect as Roquan Smith last year, but White has elite speed and can play all three downs.
49. . DL. Houston. Ed Oliver. 12. player
Ed Oliver’s drop down the first-round board ends here at pick number 12 overall where the Green Bay Packers simply can’t pass him up.
The Packers need to get better all over their defense and the chance to snatch up a playmaker like this who was compared to Aaron Donald once upon a time is too good to pass up on.
Oklahoma. Kyler Murray. 13. player. 59. . QB
The Miami Dolphins aren’t necessarily in a ‘screw it’ mode but they definitely need a jolt someway, somehow.
Murray wouldn’t be moving so aggressively toward football if he thought teams might pass him up, and the Heisman winner would find himself in a pretty great situation here.
There’s not going to be a ton of pressure to perform right away, and the Dolphins can re-evaluate a year or two down the road if things don’t work out. This is a chance worth taking if you’re Miami.
44. . DL. Clemson. Christian Wilkins. 14. player
The Atlanta Falcons need help on the defensive line, especially if Grady Jarrett leaves via free agency.
If they can keep Jarrett and add Wilkins, the NFC South quarterbacks are going to lose some sleep on Saturday nights. Wilkins is an exceptional interior defensive lineman but coaches and executives in the NFL are going to love this guy as a person. He’s such a great personality and has been one of the leaders of a strong, veteran defense for Clemson over the past couple of seasons.
What in the world are the Redskins going to do at quarterback?
The injury to Alex Smith was about the worst thing that could have happened to them after the trade they made last offseason and the money they invested in Smith.
Hopefully, Smith is able to get healthy and play again but it looks like they are planning on life without him at least for 2019.
Daniel Jones is a player who could operate Jay Gruden’s offense and possibly keep the Redskins’ arrow pointing up like it was before Smith’s injury.
87. . Edge. Mississippi State. Montez Sweat. 16. player
The Panthers have some of the oldest edge players in the NFL, and they are set to potentially lose some in free agency as well.
Montez Sweat is one of the players who really helped himself at the 2019 Senior Bowl and has earned some comparisons to Jason Taylor.
He has great length off the edge and showed he can win with speed and a strong bull rush.
WR. Ole Miss. DK Metcalf. 17. player. 53.
The Browns seem to have some major flexibility this offseason. I love the idea of getting Baker Mayfield an ‘alpha’ type of playmaker in the offense to go along with Jarvis Landry and the other guys this team has.
With Mayfield, everyone else in this Cleveland offense is elevated in my opinion. DK Metcalf will be a big time playmaker at the next level with a player like Mayfield getting him the ball.
18. player. 60. . OT. Kansas State. Dalton Risner
The Minnesota Vikings missed the playoffs in the first year of Kirk Cousins’ three-year contract. There is so much talent all over this roster, it’s hard to believe they couldn’t make it work.
One area they need to improve and get better is on the offensive line, and Risner was a player who showed at the 2019 Senior Bowl that he can be an immediate starter at the next level as a right tackle.
player. 35. . Edge. Florida State. Brian Burns. 19
The Titans got Harold Landry in the second round of last year’s draft, and in this class, they get the chance to pair him with another exciting edge player.
The Titans play in a division with DeShaun Watson and Andrew Luck, so getting pressure on the quarterback is of paramount importance. Burns was consistent over the past two seasons for Florida State and especially played well in big games.
He would be a nice edge to pair with Landry.
Byron Murphy. 20. player. 55. . CB. Washington
The Steelers get a nice steal here in Murphy who was excellent this past season for the Huskies, showing off great physicality and the ability to close quickly on the football.
This team needs quite a bit of help in the secondary despite investing some high draft picks on that side of the ball over the past three or four years, including last year’s top pick Terrell Edmunds.
Just a RS Sophomore coming out this year, Murphy has one of the highest ceilings of any player in this year’s draft class.