The first round of the 2019 NFL Draft is now in the books, and man – what a weird round it was. The first three picks were pretty much chalk, but when the Oakland Raiders selected Clemson DE Clelin Ferrell at #4, all bets were off and the entire course of the round was altered.
It was a defense-heavy first round with a TON of defensive tackles, defensive ends, and linebackers coming off the board. Only two receivers were drafted, none earlier than Marquise Brown to the Baltimore Ravens at #25. Why we’re on Day 2 and Drew Lock still doesn’t have a team is a mystery. But, nothing was as wild as the New York Giants selecting Duke quarterback Daniel Jones at #6 overall. And, your boy was standing out in the pouring rain watching.
Let’s hit the highlights and go over my winners and losers in last night’s first round.
Winners
No one had the night that the Washington R-Words had, plain and simple. On a night of solid, need-filling picks from most teams, Washington is the one team who genuinely knocked it out of the park. Who would have seen that coming? First of all, the stars aligned just right for them to get Dwayne Haskins after the Giants took Jones, the Denver Broncos traded back, and the Miami Dolphins passed on a quarterback. Now, Haskins is in a quarterback room that also features Case Keenum and Alex Smith. He’ll (presumably) be given ample time to develop and could be the cornerstone of the franchise in a few season’s time.
But, they also traded back up into the first round to take Montez Sweat and add some teeth to their already solid defense. I mean, these were two picks that will effect the franchise for years to come. Bravo for getting it right.
I don’t like any individual pick from last night more than I like the Buffalo Bills taking Ed Oliver. Based on his fit and his abilities, he may have landed in the best situation of anyone in the first round. He’s going to be a game wrecker for Bills Mafia.
Finally, I have to mention the two biggest beneficiaries of the Ferrell and Jones selections: the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions. The Jags end up with Josh Allen and the Lions end up with T.J. Hockenson because of the shocking #4 and #6 picks.
Losers
Honestly, I don’t think there was a whole lot of misses in the first round. This was a weird year where there weren’t a whole lot of highs or lows. Just a couple of really knockout selections and only a couple of real head-scratchers.
I have a hard time calling the Giants losers today because I love the selections of Dexter Lawrence and DeAndre Baker that much. But, taking Jones over Haskins and Lock is just baffling. Taking him at #6 overall puts my brain in a damn pretzel. It’s just stupid – Jones may prove us all wrong, sure, but I don’t know how we can justify taking the 59th ranked player (according to Todd McShay) at #6. Crazy.
Kind of a similar deal with the Raiders. I like Ferrell a lot….I just don’t know how you justify him at #4 ahead of Allen. He’s going to be a good player, but that seems like a reach to me. Getting Josh Jacobs was a solid pick, as was Johnathan Abram. But, you can’t help but wonder if they could’ve gotten better talent with that #4 pick.
Finally, I would point out the Atlanta Falcons. If not for their free agent additions, I would’ve put them in the ‘clear winners’ category. Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary provide a STUD pair of offensive linemen to build around. But, this team needs some serious defensive help, and they added James Carpenter and Jamon Brown along the OL! I thought that was a clear sign of going defense in this draft, but they kicked off the event by adding two more offensive linemen.
I would call into question the picks of Houston and Seattle, too. But, you can’t really fault them for going after positions of desperate need.
What do you say, NFL fans? Who are your winners and losers of last night?
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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