After enduring a tough season, the future is beginning to tape shape in Arizona. They kick off the 2019 NFL Draft with the first pick.
The Arizona Cardinals management had a different idea for their team then the talent on the field. Before the 2018 season they opted to sign veteran quarterback Sam Bradford in an effort to continue to compete. Instead Bradford got injured, rookie Josh Rosen stepped in and the talent-barren Cardinals were exposed. This team is in need of a rebuild and it will start with the 2019 draft.
On the plus side, the quarterback is in place for Arizona. Last year’s first round pick Rosen played about as well as one could expect given the lack of weapons and offensive line in front of him. New head coach Kliff Kingsbury was brought in for the sole purpose of getting the most out of the young quarterback and star running back David Johnson. Here is how the team could use their draft capital to pave the way back to a competing team.
This mock draft was done using FanSpeak’s On the Clock tool.
Round 1 – Pick 1
Nick Bosa, EDGE, Ohio State
This is one of those years where there seems to be a clear cut number one prospect. Combining positional value and his rare skill set, Nick Bosa is that player. The name may seem familiar because his brother Joey is a dominant pass rusher for the Los Angeles Chargers. Nick, despite sitting out the majority of his final season, may be a better prospect than his brother.
Nick, like his brother, can win in a variety of ways along the edge. He is no slouch in the run game either with his ability to set the edge and keep contain. Bosa is a strong and agile pass rusher who can use active hands to get into the tackle in a hurry. Once inside he has a variety of ways to leverage a good strike with flexible hips to get to the quarterback.
Edge may not be the biggest need in Arizona with one of the NFL’s best sack artist Chandler Jones already in place. However, Bosa is too good of a talent to pass up and gives Arizona the pass-rush duo that can wreck opposing offenses. In a defense run by former Broncos’ head coach Vance Joseph, the team now has their Von Miller/Bradley Chubb combination. Don’t buy into the Kyler Murray hype here. Kingsbury’s now infamous comments aside, there is no way Murray is worthy of the first overall pick especially for a team that has talent deficiencies across the roster. If this was a better quarterback class the Cardinals could leverage this pick for a massive haul. This is just not that year so they’ll “settle” for the best prospect.