The 2019 National Football League Draft has finally taken place and it was a great one. There were many good picks made, along with some that were a bit head-scratching. It is always exciting to see the lives of young players change quickly when they hear their names called on draft day, whether it is on day one or day three.

This is The Ticker’s overview of some of the bigger draft picks made over the first round and evaluation of the moves.

Arizona Cardinals select Kyler Murray, QB, first overall

The first pick of the draft being Kyler Murray was anticipated once Kliff Kingsbury took over the head coaching job for the Cardinals. Murray was one of Kingsbury’s favorite players since being recruited out of high school and Kingsbury was at Texas Tech University. 

Josh Rosen, the 10th overall pick by the Cardinals in 2018, was traded to the Dolphins after the Cardinals selected Murray, who will now become their franchise QB.

Nick Bosa and Quinnen Williams go second and third

It was no surprise that these two players were going to get selected in the places that they did, but the question was more of which player was going to what team. The San Francisco 49ers bolstered their already very good defensive line by solidifying the edge with Bosa, while the New York Jets may have taken the best player in the entire draft in Williams.

Daniel Jones is selected sixth by the New York Giants

Probably the biggest talking point and most surprising pick of the weekend was this pick made by the Giants.

For years now, everyone has said that the Giants have to take Eli Manning’s replacement and they finally did.

However, now many people have an issue with who they took. Jones was, for the most part, the fourth quarterback on many draft boards, but was the second one taken in the draft. Many believe that the Giants missed out in not taking quarterback Dwayne Haskins.

Washington Redskins take Dwayne Haskins/Trade back in to first for Montez Sweat

After the Giants passed on Haskins, the Redskins took him with the 15th selection in the draft. It was only said in the days leading up to the draft that the Redskins wanted Haskins and they got their guy.

It will be interesting to see how they handle Haskins since they traded for Case Keenum and still have Alex Smith, who is recovering from his gruesome leg injury.

The Redskins made another big move that night, trading back into the first round with the 26th pick, and taking Montez Sweat from Texas A&M.

Sweat was regarded as a top-10 pick for the majority of the draft prospect, but after he was diagnosed with a minor heart condition, teams became very skeptical, which caused him to fall.
The Redskins wanted another pass-rusher and got their guy in Sweat.

The Oakland Raiders’ three first round picks 

With their three first round selections, the Oakland Raiders took Clelin Ferrell, fourth, Josh Jacobs, 24th and Johnathan Abram, 27th. Ferrell came as one of the bigger surprises in the draft, as he was expected to be a mid-to-late-round first round pick, but the Raiders rolled the dice and took him at fourth.

The Raiders added Jacobs, the best running back in the draft, to a stingy backfield and added Abram to a group of good veteran safeties in Karl Joseph and Lamarcus Joyner.

Green Bay Packers have strong first round

The Packers had two first round picks in this draft, in which they took two defensive players. With the 12th pick they selected Rashan Gary. Gary was touted as a top-five talent at some points, but he was thought to fall because his college career was filled with injuries. The Packers took Darnell Savage Jr. with the 21st pick to bolster their very young secondary.

Gary and Savage are added to a defense that the Packers spent a good amount of money on this offseason in order to propel them to another Super Bowl and maybe, finally, give Aaron Rodgers some support.

New England Patriots draft N’Keal Harry with 32nd pick

N’Keal Harry was the second wide-receiver off the board in the first round, after Marquise “Hollywood” Brown went to the Ravens. The Patriots had a rough offseason trying to get help on their offense and many believed that they would actually trade down with this pick. Instead, they took Harry.

The Patriots signed Demaryius Thomas, who is coming off of back-to-back bad injuries, and they still have Josh Gordon under contract, although he is not with the team. It is thought that Harry will step into a big role right from day one for the Patriots.

The first round of this year’s NFL draft had many other interesting picks made, but these were the ones that caught the eyes of many compared to others.

Days two and three of the draft were just as interesting, if not more, after many saw some big-name players fall heavily in the draft. Many teams seemed to have great drafts and drafted players that really complement their team structure.