2019 NFL Draft: Losers From The First Round
The first round of the 2019 NFL Draft is complete. Here’s our look at the biggest losers from Thursday night’s festivities in Nashville.
Oakland Raiders
Wow, that was a rough night. The Raiders opened their draft by making an insane reach with the fourth pick. They selected Clemson defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell, who ranked 25th on Mel Kiper’s Big Board. That’s about where everyone had him and Oakland definitely could have waited or traded down and still wound up with Ferrell. It was a puzzling start.
With their second first-rounder, the Raiders took Alabama running back Josh Jacobs at No. 24. Jacobs was the best ball-carrier on the board and this was a need, but spending a first-round pick on a running back is always a dicey proposition. There was a lot of talent still available and Jacobs may have wound up being a second-day pick if Oakland had just been patient.
At No. 27, the Raiders selected Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram, who is solid but not spectacular. He’s a good tackler and a plug-and-play guy, but he’s not going to “wow” you consistently.
The Raiders had three first-round picks, including the fourth selection, and they got nothing terribly exciting. When you have the fourth overall pick and trade guys like Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper for first-rounders, you expect to come away result than this.
The Raiders just stay the Raiders.
Josh Rosen
For his sake, I really hope Josh Rosen didn’t buy a house in Phoenix.
The UCLA product was the 10th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. A year later he’s going to be out of a job. When the Arizona Cardinals selected Kyler Murray with the first pick in this year’s draft, it meant Rosen’s time with the organization was over. He wasn’t traded on the first night of the raft, but that’s certainly coming.
It’s crazy how far Rosen’s stock has fallen. He entered the 2018 draft as the most “NFL ready” of the quarterbacks in his class. A year later, teams are balking at trading second-round picks for him. After watching him play as a rookie, it’s not hard to understand why.
Yes, the team around him was terrible during his rookie season, but Rosen was horrendous. He played in 14 games in 2018, and completed just 55.2 percent of his passes for 2,278 yards, with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He finished dead last in the NFL in both passer rating (66.7) and Total QBR (25.9). It’s understandable that teams are hesitant to give up a ton for him.
New York Giants
The Giants wound up with three picks in the first round (No. 6, No. 17 and No. 30) and I’m not sure they actually got much better.
Daniel Jones was the pick at No. 6, and the Duke quarterback could have easily been taken in the middle of the first round. In fact, the Giants probably could have gotten him at 17. Instead, they reached and took him at six, when he wasn’t even the best quarterback available (Dwayne Haskins was).
New York then took Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence at 17, which was a solid pick, but other impact players were available. Lawrence never lived up to the immense hype that preceded him at Clemson, but the talent is certainly there if the Giants can unlock it.
At 30, after the Giants moved up to that spot, they picked Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker, who is fine. He’s not a big-time athlete but is a solid, savvy corner. That said, he’s not a star.
With three first-round picks, a team should have a franchise-changing draft. General manager Dave Gettleman and the Giants didn’t do that. In fact, they didn’t come close.
D.K. Metcalf
D.K. Metcalf showed up and absolutely killed it at the combine, but that doesn’t always translate into being drafted highly. Still, most believed the Ole Miss wideout would be the first receiver off the board.
Nope.
Metcalf is still looking for a home after the first round, which is crazy when you consider his ridiculous raw athletic ability. He’s 6’3″ and 228 pounds, ran a 4.33 40, threw up 27 reps on the bench and broke out a 40.5-inch vertical at the combine. But clearly teams are hesitant because of his lack of collegiate production.
After redshirting during his first season on campus, Meltcalf wound up with just 67 career receptions for 1,228 yards and 14 touchdowns. Even with that in mind, it’s crazy a guy with his physical ability wasn’t selected in the first round.
Cornerbacks
One cornerback went in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. One! Last year, three corners were taken in the first round and that was considered a down year. Five of them were taken in the first rounds of both the 2017 and 2016 drafts. So yeah, this is a bit strange. What’s crazier? The first corner didn’t come off the board until the 30th pick this year.
Deandre Baker was taken by the Giants to stop the bleeding for corners, but it was a crazy run. Guys like Byron Murphy, Greedy Williams, Justin Layne, Rock Ya-Sin and Lonnie Johnson Jr. are still out there. And all of them could have been, at worst, late first-round picks.
While this draft class doesn’t have an elite, high-end corner like Denzel Ward, there is a lot of talent at the position. Given how far the NFL has swung towards being a passing league, the lack of corners selected was shocking.
Jawaan Taylor
Jawaan Taylor was ranked by many as the top offensive lineman in the this year’s draft, and certainly the top pure tackle. He was projected to be a top 15 pick, and could have potentially gone as in the top 10. Somehow, he’s still available.
Taylor is 6’5″ and 312 pounds with long arms and excellent power. He made 36 college starts, is an excellent run blocker and has improved in pass protection. He’s likely a right tackle long-term, but it doesn’t matter, he should absolutely have been selected already. It’s insane that six offensive linemen were selected before him.
Taylor should come off the board early on Day 2, but it’s got to sting that he’s lasted this long.