The first round of the 2019 NFL draft was a whirlwind of epic proportions, thanks to a deep class of defensive talent and a truckload of trades during the second half.
We saw plenty of surprises on Day 1, from huge steals to questionable reaches. Here are the some of the most surprising decisions that were made throughout the night.
SURPRISE
Clelin Ferrell | EDGE | Oakland Raiders | No. 4 overall
There’s no doubt that the Raiders needed to address their anemic pass rush with this pick. With both Josh Allen and Ed Oliver still available, many felt they would go in one of those two directions. Instead, we got our first surprise of the night when commissioner Goodell stepped up the podium and announced that the Raiders were taking Ferrell, an edge rusher out of Clemson.
Ferrell is a really good player, but we’re not sure we saw a single mock draft or big board that ranked him ahead of Oliver or Allen throughout this process. This seems to be at least 10 picks too early for Ferrell. If things don’t work out, Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock will certainly have to answer for this decision.
REACH
Daniel Jones | QB | New York Giants | No. 6 overall
Perhaps Dave Gettleman and the Giants are sick and tired of the Eli Manning jokes. Perhaps they were sick and tired of hearing how they passed on Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson during last year’s draft. Frankly, we don’t know how else to explain this selection.
After being super picky on who would be their quarterback of the future, the Giants settled on an extremely raw passer in Jones. Jones throws the football with a lot of touch and accuracy, but ball velocity has been a real problem with him. Does he have enough arm strength to sling a ball in there before a defensive back can react? That much is yet to be seen.
VALUE
Ed Oliver | DT | Buffalo Bills | No. 9 overall
It was no secret that the Bills entered tonight with a need for more disruption on the interior of their defensive line. Many mock drafts had them taking Christian Wilkins from Clemson but they were probably shocked when Oliver, a top five talent fell into their laps.
Oliver has been dominating college football since his sophomore season and he’s been on the draft radar ever since. Oliver’s game features a first step as good as any in this draft class. Tom Brady, Sam Darnold and Ryan Fitzpatrick won’t be happy with this pick.
SURPRISE
Devin Bush | LB | Pittsburgh Steelers | No. 10 overall
Let me start by saying there’s nothing surprising about Bush going 10th overall. He’s a talented player and absolutely deserved to go this early. The surprise was that the Steelers, a team that rarely moves up in the draft came all the way up from No. 20 overall to ensure they got Bush. Put the tape on and it’s easy to see why the Steelers brass felt so strongly about him.
Bush is an explosive play maker who possesses the range necessary to make plays all over the field. Bush’s motor is always running hot and he’s going to drastically improve that Pittsburgh defense. Another surprise worth noting is that this was the only trade made in the top 10 of the draft.
SURPRISE
Chris Lindstrom | OG | Atlanta Falcons | No. 14 overall
Let’s start this off by saying we’re a huge fan of Chris Lindstrom around these parts. This qualifies as a surprise because many saw Lindstrom lasting until Day 2. The Falcons obviously felt very strongly about him and pulled the trigger in the top half of the first round.
Lindstrom fires off the snap and generates a lot of movement in the run game. He’s very athletic for his size and he’s incredibly physical. Lindstrom may seem like a surprise pick tonight, but the Falcons just found a long-term starter on the interior of their offensive line.
VALUE
Brian Burns | EDGE | Carolina Panthers | No. 16 overall
With nine defensive players already off the board, the Panthers still made themselves an excellent value selection with Burns at 16th overall. One of the best pass rushers in this class, many felt the Panthers would go with an offensive tackle here, but they deemed Burns too good to pass up.
We understand why. Burns has a deep arsenal of pass rush moves, but nothing is more exciting than his length and burst. His ability to bend-and-turn the corner is as good as any pass rusher in this class. Put Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and Jameis Winston on alert.
REACH
Dexter Lawrence | NT | New York Giants | No. 17 overall
Ouch. We’re of the opinion that the Giants have had a rough night. They had two first round picks entering tonight and they made our list here twice for negative reasons. It’s a pass rushing league and we’re not convinced that Lawrence has enough juice to survive as a pass rusher on third-and-obvious passing situations.
To be fair to Lawrence, not many 342-pound defensive linemen are labeled as pass rushers. That fact alone makes the value at 17th overall highly questionable.
SURPRISE
Jeffery Simmons | DT | Tennessee Titans | No. 19 overall
Once considered a lock to be a top-10 selection, things got hazy surrounding Simmons’ draft stock after the Mississippi State product tore his ACL while training for the NFL Scouting Combine in mid February. If the Titans are comfortable with his medical, and they obviously are, this pick represents excellent value.
The Titans are clearly willing to wait for Simmons to get healthy and are confident in his rehab process. On tape, Simmons is a powerful prospect with a bull rush that stunned would-be blockers on a snap-by-snap basis.
REACH
Tytus Howard | OT | Alabama State | No. 23 overall
Can you say reach? The Texans entered tonight with some serious holes across their offensive line. They let their franchise quarterback DeShaun Watson get hit on what felt like a snap-by-snap basis last year, and they certainly needed to address that at some point this weekend.
We’re just not sure Howard was the way to go here. With Cody Ford and Jawaan Taylor still on the board, the Texans decided to go with Howard instead. We’re high on Howard’s potential, but he’s more in the vein of a mid-round pick that a coach can mold for the future. Instead, the Texans will likely ask him to start immediately.
SURPRISE
L.J. Collier | EDGE | TCU | No. 29 overall
We heard whispers throughout the draft process that Collier may go in the first round. Many didn’t believe it was possible, but the Seahawks made the rumor a reality when they made Collier the 29th pick in this year’s draft.
Collier is a physical pass rusher that plays the game with a lot of energy. He’ll try to replace Frank Clark, who the Seahawks traded to the Chiefs earlier this week.
SURPRISE
D.K. Metcalf falls out of the first round
Metcalf was one of the most fascinating prospects to monitor throughout this process. A neck injury cost him the majority of his 2018 campaign, but he had as good of a pre-draft process as any receiver in this class.
First, the shirtless photo that made it’s rounds. Second, the report of his body fat being less than 2%. Metcalf became somewhat of a folk tale throughout this process, but it wasn’t enough to convince a team to draft him in the top-32. We imagine he’ll have a ton of suitors jockeying for position to draft him very early tomorrow.
SURPRISE
Drew Lock falls out of the first round
We heard that as many as five quarterbacks would be drafted tonight, and that teams would be trading up in order to land their guy. Instead, just three quarterbacks were drafted and none of them were the selection of a team that traded up to get them.
Lock is one of the quarterbacks that fell out of the top-32 selections. Lock was consistently linked to the Broncos, but they passed on him despite having two chances to take him. Lock has all the physical tools, but he’s battled some accuracy issues at times. It’ll be interesting to see where he lands tomorrow.
