The first round of the 2019 NFL Draft brought us tons of great moments and great young players ready to take the field this fall. Some teams knocked it out of the park with their first round selections, while some didn’t. With the first round officially done, here are the best picks.
Josh Allen- Jacksonville Jaguars (7th overall)
The Jaguars only added to their stellar defense with probably the safe pick this late in the top-10. Josh Allen was pegged as a top-3 talent on most people’s big boards. I personally thought he would go to the Jets at 3, and thought there was no possible way that the Giants would pass on him at 6. Nonetheless, the Jaguars picked up a guy that can get to the QB along with their stable of great pass-rusher. The Jaguars are hoping they get what they thought they were going to get in Dante Fowler Jr. a couple of years ago.
Quinnen Williams- New York Jets (3rd overall)
As a Jets fan, this was the pick I didn’t want coming into the draft (I wanted Josh Allen). But it’s hard to say this wasn’t one of the better picks after all the praise the Jets are receiving for taking him. He was regarded as the BEST player in the draft, even over the highly coveted Nick Bosa. He will certainly help the rest of the D-line be more productive like he did at Alabama. While it doesn’t fit an area of need, Jets DC Greg Williams will find a way to use Williams in all sorts of ways throughout the course of next season.
Devin White- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5th overall)
Devin White was one of my favorite prospects in this draft, and the Bucs were able to scoop him up to fill the gaping hole left after the departure of Kwon Alexander. The two are practically the same type of player, but White has so much potential it’s unreal. His fit in the defense former Jets HC Todd Bowles will be seamless too. A sideline-to-sideline star, he’s going to be the leader of Tampa's defense for the next 5-10 years.
Montez Sweat- Washington Redskins (26th overall)
A lot of people are scared of Sweat because of health issues, enough to completely take them off their draft boards. As it turns out, he may not even have any heart issues to begin with. I do believe that there was some merit to the original diagnosis, the Redskins absolutely stole him at 26. Before he was diagnosed, he was a TOP-10 pick. I personally love his high motor, one of those traits I feel is extremely important for NFL success.
Jonah Williams- Cincinnati Bengals (11th overall)
The Bengals were smart to resist the urge to grab a QB at this pick, which was certainly a job well done. There was too much uncertainty in this year’s draft class for me. They ended up getting the QB’s protector for the next 10 years in this pick, the right move. They get to fix what was an awful right side of the O-line with a high character guy. Right now, he’s a starter on all 32 NFL teams.
Nick Bosa- San Francisco 49ers (2nd overall)
For pretty much all of the regular season, Nick Bosa was widely considered to be the consensus first overall pick. After leaving college football behind after a core injury week 3 of the College Football season and the way QB's can shoot up draft boards, he ended up in the 49ers lap at 2. While not as explosive as older brother Joey, he has better fundamentals and plays at a high level at a very highly regarded position rushes from the edge.