Murray drops in mock draft
Times’ annual beat writer mock draft has the highly regarded Oklahoma quarterback falling to Miami at No. 13 with the top six teams scrambling to fill their holes on defense
The Times’ annual writers’ selections have the Oklahoma quarterback going 13th to Miami.
Could it be that Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray not only doesn’t go No. 1 in this draft but actually tumbles out of the top 10?
This mock draft raises that possibility.
It’s The Times’ annual beat writer mock, in which reporters who cover the team on a day-to-day basis make their picks.
One way Thursday’s first round could go:
1. ARIZONA: DT Quinnen Williams, Alabama (Kent Somers, Arizona Republic) — The Cardinals like Josh Rosen, and I don’t see them taking a quarterback in the first round two years in a row. They need help on the defensive line and Williams would immediately provide that. GM Steve Keim has made some mistakes in the first round by taking guys who weren’t that passionate about football (Jonathan Cooper, Robert Nkemdiche). So I can see them taking Williams.
2. SAN FRANCISCO: DE Nick Bosa, Ohio State (Matt Barrows, The Athletic) — In this scenario, the 49ers will be tempted to trade back with a team seeking Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray. If they don’t get the compensation they want, they’ll be happy with Bosa, who will form a bookend with Dee Ford the way the Chargers use Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.
3. N.Y. JETS: OLB Josh Allen, Kentucky (Brian Costello, New York Post) — The Jets have lacked a difference-maker at edge rusher for more than a decade. Allen is the perfect weapon for Gregg Williams’ 3-4, giving him that outside disruptive force to pressure the quarterback.
4. OAKLAND: OLB Devin White, Louisiana State (Michael Gehlken, Las Vegas Review-Journal) —No quarterback for the Raiders. They likely look to trade back, where White becomes a better value than at No. 4 and another Day 2 pick can be acquired. I probably should have gone with an every-down rusher like Ed Oliver in this no-trade exercise, but White can rush, cover and lead this defense for a decade.
5. TAMPA BAY: DT Ed Oliver, Houston (Rick Stroud, Tampa Bay Times) — The Buccaneers would hope the phone rings for teams wanting to get ahead of the Giants to take a quarterback. They wouldn’t want to move more than three spots however. Linebacker Devin Bush is right there with White in the Buccaneers’ eyes. But with the team moving on from Gerald McCoy, they will select Oliver.
6. N.Y. GIANTS: DE Montez Sweat, Mississippi State (Tom Rock, Newsday) — The Giants had one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL in 2018 and then traded away Olivier Vernon who led the team in sacks. They need to find a way to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and, lucky for them, this may be the best draft in ages at that position (four of top five in this mock are up-front terrors). Sweat should give them the kind of sack numbers they haven’t seen since the days of Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul.
7. JACKSONVILLE: OT Jawaan Taylor, Florida (John Reid, Florida Times Union) — Quarterback Nick Foles is going to need protection, the Jaguars have a hole to fill at right tackle after releasing starter Jermey Parnell to clear $6 million in cap space, and Taylor is the No. 1 rated tackle prospect.
8. DETROIT: TE T.J. Hockenson, Iowa (Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press)—The Lions would love to add a defensive playmaker for head coach Matt Patricia, but with their best options off the board they go with the safe pick in Hockenson, a versatile tight end who embodies a lot of what they want in their players.
9. BUFFALO: OT Andre Dillard, Washington State (Jay Skurski, Buffalo News) — With the top pass rushers off the board, I’d expect the Bills to explore a trade down with a quarterback-needy team. Short of that, it makes sense to continue to build around young quarterback Josh Allen. Dillard could push incumbent left tackle Dion Dawkins to the right side.
10. DENVER: QB Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State (Nicki Jhabvala, Denver Post) — The Broncos have their starter (for now) in Joe Flacco, but acquiring Haskins sets the stage for the future. Flacco has no guaranteed money left on his contract, so the Broncos could walk away after a year without taking a cap it. Haskins fits the mold of Elway’s preferred quarterback as a taller pocket passer, and after some time learning behind Flacco, he could be their longer-term answer at the position.
11. CINCINNATI: LB Devin Bush, Michigan (Paul Dehner, Cincinnati Enquirer) — Kyler Murray being available is a wild card the Bengals couldn’t be anticipating. That said, still don’t think the Bengals take him. They have plans to fix
the front seven and offensive tackle. Bush is an idea fit for what their defense lacked last year.
12. GREEN BAY: OT Jonah Williams, Alabama (Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette) — If Arizona doesn’t take Kyler Murray somebody else will before 12, but on the long adds that he’s there you can’t rule out Packers GM Brian Gutekunst taking him, just as Ted Thompson drafted Aaron Rodgers in 2005. But if not, the Packers need just about everything, and Williams is the best value still on the board.
13. MIAMI: QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma (Omar Kelly, South Florida Sun-Sentinel) —The Dolphins didn’t anticipate Kyler Murray’s draft-day slide, at least in this mock, but since he’s available at 13, they’ll rush to the podium and select a talent many believe will be this generation’s version of Russell Wilson.
14. ATLANTA: CB Greedy Williams, Louisiana State (D. Orlando Ledbetter, Atlanta JournalConstitution) — After parting ways with three of their four top cornerbacks from last season, the Falcons need a cornerback and Williams fits their scheme.
15. WASHINGTON: DT Rashan Gary, Michigan (Kareem Copeland, Washington Post) — Redskins stick to their board and get a player few envisioned falling to them. He’s not the prototypical 3-4 edge rusher, but there’s just too much raw ability to pass up at No. 15. Ryan Kerrigan wasn’t a perfect fit either and that has worked out.
16. CAROLINA: DE Brian Burns, Florida State (Joe Person, The Athletic) — The Panthers’ defense, particularly the pass rush, got old and slow seemingly overnight last season. With Julius Peppers retiring, Ron Rivera needs a play-making edge rusher who fits in both the four-man front and three-man front, which Rivera plans to utilize more. Burns has great bend and speed on the edge and should make an immediate impact.
17. N.Y. GIANTS: DT Dexter Lawrence, Clemson (Pat Leonard, New York Daily News) — The Giants are too light on the interior D-line. Not anymore. And they still get their quarterback, trading up into the back of the first round for West Virginia’s Will Grier.
18. MINNESOTA: C Garrett Bradbury, North Carolina State (Ben Goessling, Minneapolis Star Tribune) — The Vikings could consider a defensive tackle such as Clemson’s Christian Wilkins here, but given how badly they need help in the middle of their line, Bradbury makes perfect sense. His athleticism and intellect will fit nicely in Gary Kubiak’s outside zone scheme, and could allow the Vikings to move Pat Elflein back to guard, where he played for three years in college.
19. TENNESSEE: DT Jerry Tillery, Notre Dame (Joe Rexrode, The Tennesseean) — The Titans need to give Jurrell Casey some help up front and, though Clemson star Christian Wilkins is on the board, Tillery is the choice. He’s 6 feet 7, versatile and coming off an eightsack senior season.
20. PITTSBURGH: CB Byron Murphy, Washington (Ed Bouchette, The Athletic) — If this is how it comes down, the Steelers might try to move down a bit. They wanted one of the Devins (White or Bush) but they also need corners and outside linebackers. They haven’t had much success drafting corners but they can’t stop trying.
21. SEATTLE: WR N’Keal Harry, Arizona State (Bob Condotta, Seattle Times) — Expect the Seahawks who enter the draft with a league-low four picks to trade down and get more. But if not, Harry could be an enticing option as Seattle begins preparing for eventual life after Doug Baldwin.
22. BALTIMORE: DE Clelin Ferrell, Clemson (Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic) — The Ravens lost Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith this offseason and their defense is predicated on being aggressive and getting pressure on the quarterback. Matthew Judon is their only established pass rusher, so this is a case where one of the best player available matches up with their biggest need. Ferrell had 21 sacks and 38 tackles for loss over his final two college seasons, so he should step in and contribute immediately.
23. HOUSTON: OL Cody Ford, Oklahoma (John McClain, Houston
Chronicle) — The Texans need to improve their offensive line in the worst way. Ford’s a mauler who can play right tackle or slide inside to guard.
24. OAKLAND: RB Josh Jacobs, Alabama (Scott Bair, NBC Sports Bay Area) — With so many top edge rushers off the board, the Raiders look away from their most glaring need and select a do-everything back seemingly tailor-made for Jon Gruden’s scheme. Jacobs joins Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams on newlook Raiders offense that should be explosive in 2019 behind quarterback Derek Carr.
25. PHILADELPHIA: DT Christian Wilkins, Clemson (Les Bowen, Philadelphia Daily News) — Eagles need a disruptor next to Fletcher Cox, along with Malik Jackson. The real issue with Jackson is that the Jaguars benched him, is he going to be a consistent contributor?
26. INDIANAPOLIS: CB Deandre Baker, Georgia (Stephen Holder, The Athletic) — The Colts have an adequate stable of cornerbacks, especially after re-signing veteran Pierre Desir. But what they don’t have is depth. And that’s hurt them at times during the last two seasons. Adding Baker solidifies this group for years to come.
27. OAKLAND: TE Noah Fant, Iowa (Matt Kawahara, San Francisco Chronicle) — With tight end Jared Cook, their leading receiver last season, gone in free agency, the Raiders draft a potential replacement in Fant, who offers size (6-4) and speed (4.50 40) and caught 18 touchdowns over his final two college seasons. And Paul Guenther is left waiting until day two for a pass rusher.
28. CHARGERS: S Nassir Adderley, Delaware (Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times) — The Chargers need a free safety to replace Jahleel Addae, and Adderley is a ball-hawk type they could really use.
29. KANSAS CITY: WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Oklahoma (Terez Paylor, Yahoo Sports) — The Chiefs could take a talented corner (like Rock Ya-Sin) or an edge rusher or D-lineman here, but they will take the best player available if they don’t flip the pick. As such, Marquise Brown would fit the bill as a field-stretching speed merchant who serves as insurance for Tyreek Hill (ongoing legal situation) and Sammy Watkins (injuries).
30. GREEN BAY: WR D.K. Metcalf, Mississippi (Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) — The Packers would like to trade this pick for extra picks and take advantage of depth at defensive line and tight end. If they can’t, they go with D.K. Metcalf and give new coach Matt La Fleur who can run deep and get the ball on jet sweeps.
31. RAMS: DT Dre’Mont Jones, Ohio State (Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times) — This deep in the draft, and without a second-round pick, the Rams want to trade back and repeat the success they have had the last few years without a first-round selection. But Jones could help fill a void left by the departure of Ndamukong Suh.
32. NEW ENGLAND: TE Ir v Smith, Alabama (Ben Volin, Boston Globe) — The Patriots need weapons for Tom Brady, and Smith will be a good, versatile piece for them. He’s not much of a blocker, but they just signed Austin Seferian-Jenkins for that role, and Smith can be an Aaron Hernandez type — at least on the field.