Winners and losers of the 2019 NFL Draft

The 2019 NFL Draft officially wrapped up yesterday. Now that we know where these new NFL players will be playing, we can take a look at which teams won or lost this draft. After evaluating the picks for every NFL team over the last day, I’ve put together my list of three winners and three losers of the 2019 NFL Draft.

“NFL Draft, Chicago 2016” by Mary is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Winners

Arizona Cardinals

Draft Picks

• Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray(No. 1)
• Washington CB Byron Murphy (No. 33)
• Massachusetts WR Andy Isabella (No. 62)
• Boston College DE Zach Allen (No. 65)
• Iowa State WR Hakeem Butler (No. 103)
• Alabama S Deionte Thompson (No. 139)
• Fresno State WR Keesean Johnson (No. 174)
• Georgia C Lamont Gaillard (No. 179)
• Morgan State OT Joshua Miles (No. 248)
• Temple DT Michael Dogbe (No. 249)
• UCLA TE Caleb Wilson (No. 254)

After going 3-13 last season, the Cardinals had a lot of work to do in this draft. Well, their worked seemed to pay off. Starting with QB Kyler Murray, the Cardinals were able to walk out of the draft with several probable day one starters. CB Byron Murphy, WR Andy Isabella, DE Zach Allen, WR Hakeem Butler and S Deionte Thompson are all potential starters for the Cardinals this season. When you throw Murray in that mix, the Cardinals got six players with their first six picks who could start right away.

In addition to getting several potential starters, the Cardinals got great value with several of their picks. Byron Murphy was arguably the top CB in this draft, and the Cardinals were able to get him in the second-round. Isabella and Allen went right about where they should have, but getting Hakeem Butler at No. 103 and Deionte Thompson at No. 139 are great value picks.

This draft class might not get the Cardinals to compete in the NFL right away, but they’ve got a ton of potential in this draft class. This draft by the Cardinals could end up being the best in this class when we look back on it in a few years.

 

New England Patriots

Draft Picks

• Arizona State WR N’Keal Harry (No. 32)
• Vanderbilt CB Joejuan Williams (No. 45)
• Michigan DE Chase Winovich (No. 77)
• Alabama RB Damien Harris (No. 87)
• West Virginia OT Yodny Cajuste (No. 101)
• Arkansas OG Hjalte Froholdt (No. 118)
• Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham (No. 133)
• Maryland DE Byron Cowart (No. 159)
• Stanford P Jake Bailey (No. 163)
• Mississippi CB Ken Webster(No. 252)

When I look at the first five picks for the Patriots, I see five guys who can make an impact for this team right away. N’Keal Harry is their new big red zone target, Joejuan Williams is a big corner who will get a ton of time opposite Stephon Gilmore, Chase Winovich will play significant time on the defensive line, Damien Harris will add to a strong backfield, and Yodny Cajuste will get a good amount of time in the Patriots’ offensive line rotation.

Skipping down to QB Jarrett Stidham, would anyone be surprised if he ends up being the guy to take over for Tom Brady when he finally decides to retire? He has the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest QBs in the history of the NFL. Stidham didn’t really fit well in Auburn’s system, but Belichick is one of the best at getting his system to adapt to his players.

I’m not sure how the Patriots did it, but they ended up with a bunch of guys who just seem to be players the Patriots can get the most out of. These guys may not be stars in the NFL, but they’re for sure guys the Patriots will turn into productive NFL players.

 

Chicago Bears

Draft Picks

• Iowa State RB David Montgomery (No. 73)
• Georgia WR Riley Ridley (No. 126)
• Kansas State CB Duke Shelley (No. 205)
• Florida Atlantic RB Kerrith White (No. 222)
• Valdosta State CB Stephen Denmark (No. 238)

For not having a pick until the third-round, the Chicago Bears did really well in this draft. I love the selection of RB David Montgomery. Getting him at No. 73 is great value. I believe he’s one of the best RBs in this class. Don’t be surprised if Montgomery ends up being the next rookie RB to lead the NFL in rushing.

At pick No. 126, Riley Ridley is another great value. I thought he would go in the second-round. He didn’t put up a ton of production in college, but his potential is far greater than where he was selected. He should only add to a group of WRs who were pretty strong last season, helping Mitch Trubisky even more.

Their last three selections were great depth pieces. I think we also have to look at which UDFAs the Bears signed after the draft. Some notable players the Bears signed are WR Emmanuel Hall and TE Dax Raymond, who are both players I expected to be drafted.

Finally, I factored in the Bears’ trade for Khalil Mack last season. They may not have had a first-round pick in this draft, but Mack is far better than anyone the Bears would have selected. Mack will be far more productive than any player selected in this draft in 2019.

 

Losers

Houston Texans

Draft Picks

• Alabama State OT Tytus Howard (No. 23)
• Kentucky CB Lonnie Johnson (No. 54)
• Northern Illinois OT Max Scharping (No. 55)
• San Diego State TE Kahale Warring (No. 86)
• Texas DE Charles Omenihu (No. 161)
• Central Michigan CB Xavier Crawford(No. 195)
• Texas A&M RB Cullen Gillaspia (No. 220)

I liked the position the Texans drafted with the No. 23 pick, but I hate the player. Tytus Howard is not a player who should have been selected in the first-round. I would have been okay with them selecting him in the second-round, but not the first. There were far better lineman available at the time. I’m not sure he’s the answer to protecting Deshaun Watson.

When I look at the selections of Lonnie Johnson, Max Scharping and Kahale Warring, I don’t see any of them being instant impact players for this team. I thought the Texans made a lot of reach picks in this draft. They may end up proving me wrong, but I didn’t like the value of these guys where the Texans drafted them.

 

New York Giants

Draft Picks

• Duke QB Daniel Jones (No. 6)
• Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence (No. 17)
• Georgia CB Deandre Baker (No. 30)
• Old Dominion DE Oshane Ximines (No. 95)
• Notre Dame CB Julian Love (No. 108)
• Wisconsin LB Ryan Connelly (No. 143)
• Auburn WR Darius Slayton (No. 171)
• Washburn CB Corey Ballentine (No. 180)
• Kentucky OT George Asafo-Adjei (No. 232)
• Syracuse DT Chris Slayton (No. 245) 

Let’s start with Daniel Jones at No. 6. The Giants drafted Jones because he has similar traits to Eli Manning. I hate to break it to the Giants, but Eli Manning’s style of play doesn’t win games in the NFL anymore. This is a new age in the NFL. I’m not sure a QB who can’t even complete 60% of his passes is the answer. Huge reach with the sixth pick.

I like Dexter Lawrence and Deandre Baker as players, but I really hated how the Giants didn’t address their WR need with one of those picks. Instead, they waited until pick No. 171 to grab Darius Slayton. Slayton is not going to replace Odell Beckham Jr.

If I had to say one nice thing about the Giants’ draft, it’d be that they have a nice new pair of CBs in Baker and Julian Love. I think Love could have gone a lot higher than No. 108, so that was a great value. Overall though, I don’t believe the Giants made the right moves in this draft.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Draft Picks

• LSU LB Devin White (No. 5)
• Central Michigan DB Sean Bunting (No. 39)
• Auburn CB Jamel Dean (No. 94)
• Kentucky S Mike Edwards (No. 99)
• Iowa OLB Anthony Nelson (No. 107)
• Utah K Matt Gay (No. 145)
• Bowling Green WR Scott Miller (No. 208)
• Missouri DT Terry Beckner Jr. (No. 215)

I loved the pick of LB Devin White at No. 5. I think he’s going to be a great NFL LB. However, pass rusher Josh Allen was still on the board. If Allen ends up being a big time sack artist, Bucs fans may end up hating the pick of White. Still a good pick, though.

After the pick of White, I didn’t like what the Bucs did. Sean Bunting was taken too early, as well as Jamel Dean. Skip down to K Matt Gay, and you’ve got another guy who was taken too early. He is a K after all. The Buccaneers had the opportunity to draft players who were higher ranked, as well as who fit their team needs.

Not addressing their biggest team needs is another major reason why the Bucs were losers in this draft. They didn’t grab an offensive lineman or RB, which were two positions they really needed to address for this upcoming season. Not sure what happened after the selection of Devin White.