The 2019 NFL Draft took place during the last weekend in April, and it was packed with emotion, interesting selections, and the everyday buzz that surrounds the National Football League.

The event kicked off with the Arizona Cardinals on the clock. In years past, the public had a general idea of who was going first overall in the days leading up to the commissioner walking across that big, bright stage, but this was most certainly not the case this year.

For months, the Cardinals had been linked to Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Kyler Murray of Oklahoma, but uncertainty seems to follow this franchise. They have not seen much winning or decent quarterback play in quite some time. Arizona was looking to build for a brighter future when they traded up to draft UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen last year in the hope of turning around their losing ways and build for future success. So why take Murray this year? The answer lay with their new head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, who has been linked to the young signal caller since Murray’s high school days. For many, Kingsbury’s brash approach to the game fits with the speedy quarterback’s style of play. There was also a soundbite days before Kingsbury’s Texas Tech Red Raiders played Murray’s Oklahoma Sooners in November, when the then college coach told reporters: “I would take him (Murray) with the first pick of the draft if I could.”

Who knew that six months later Kingsbury would do just that as the Cardinals announced Murray’s selection.

As for the Cardinals incumbent starter, Rosen, the second night of the draft answered the question of where he would suit up now that Murray is the main signal caller in the desert. It would end up being South Beach, as the Miami Dolphins traded this year’s second round and next year’s fifth round pick to acquire his talents.
As for the first round, after Murray went first, the next four picks went mostly according to plan. Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa went 2 to the 49ers, Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams would join the New York Jets at 3. In a bit of a surprise, The Raiders selected Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell, who many viewed as a later round selection, at 4.

The next quarterback taken off the board rocked the entire landscape of the draft and quite possibly the future of two NFC East teams. With the #6 pick, the New York Giants were on the clock. In an offseason that has been interesting for the Giants already – they left many scratching their heads after they traded generational talent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr to the Cleveland Browns in March. The G-Men upped the intrigue with their pick of Duke quarterback Daniel Jones in the sixth spot. Many experts viewed Jones as a prototypical NFL QB in terms of size and strength, but his inconsistency had most mock drafts placing him in the later first round or possibly falling out of the top 32 all together.

Additionally, Kentucky pass rusher Josh Allen was still on the board. Allen is seen by many as a player who can change the complexion of a defense, which is why the Jacksonville Jaguars wasted no time in picking him with the following pick. While Giants fans may be wondering “what if” for years to come, Allen adds another piece to what is already a strong Jaguars defensive group.

The other NFC East team in this frenzy was the hometown Washington Redskins. In the days leading up to the draft, the buzz surrounding the ‘Skins was that selecting a quarterback at #15 was not practical. There were some skeptics in the organization who felt that the team needed to fill more holes on the roster, and also believed that their preferred quarterback, Ohio State Buckeye and the pride of Bullis School in Potomac, Dwayne Haskins, would not slip down to 15. But give credit to Washington, they waited out the storm, held strong, and made no effort to trade up to grab Haskins and risk losing their draft capital.

Patience is a virtue in sports, and for the Redskins it paid off.

It’s become a time honored tradition for the masses to release draft grades in the days and weeks that follow the event, but the truth is it’s impossible to determine who won this draft until pads are thrown onto the 254 players who had their names called during these three days. However, there is always a certainty that every draft holds: Some picks pan out, and some don’t. Only time will tell who falls into which category.