Oakland Raiders: Final full first-round 2019 NFL mock draft
By Sanjit T.
22. Baltimore Ravens Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma
I don’t believe Lamar Jackson is the future of the Baltimore Ravens. He might be able to do it for a few seasons, but overall, I think he’ll end up having similar fates of similar quarterbacks such as Colin Kaepernick, Johnny Manziel, and Tim Tebow.
However, for him to have any chance at success, he has to be able to throw the ball deep. The Ravens should fill that void in there offense by selecting the best deep threat in this draft class, Marquise Brown. He is one of the fastest wideouts in this draft.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see him at the combine due to a foot injury. However, he is on track to fully recover for training camp.
23. Houston Texans Cody Ford, OT, Oklahoma
The Houston Texans are one of the best teams in the NFL. The defense, for example, is loaded with great players, including one that is a future Hall of Famer in J.J. Watt. However, for this team to be successful, they must fix the offense by focusing on that offensive line. It gives up too many sacks for any real success. Last year, they gave up the third-most.
Fill in Cody Ford, he would instantly help this team out in pass protection. The Texans will get an excellent offensive tackle who will start day one. He is a big physical offensive lineman who has excellent technique. This year’s draft is very deep, and the Texans could also choose to take a corner here.
24. Oakland Raiders (from CHI) Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
The Oakland Raiders need a lot of help, and although they’ve signed a bunch of players on defense, they still need help at the corner spot. In our last mock, we had them taking Deandre Baker, but it seems like Pittsburgh is really interested in his services.
Therefore, the Raiders take the next best corner in this draft, Byron Murphy.
Murphy primarily played Zone coverage at Washington, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play man to man either. In fact, Murphy allowed only 47.7% of catches to be completed, and he forced 17 incompletions, to go along with his 7 career interceptions in college. Murphy alongside Gareon Conley could be one of the most underrated corner duos in the NFL.
25. Philadelphia Eagles, Taylor Rapp, S, Washington
The Philadelphia Eagles could go many different ways with their top pick in 2019, however, with the recent addition of Malik Jackson and Vinny Curry to their defensive line, a corner or safety makes sense here. The Eagles signed Ronald Derby to a one year deal, so it makes sense to take a safety here.
The best safety in this class in Taylor Rapp. He is a force in the middle of the field and has been compared to Harrison Smith. Rapp can step in and start right away, his tape shows an athletic safety who can support the running game, and make every tackle.
Last year, he only missed 2 tackles, compared to Johnathan Abram and Deonte Thompson’s 11 and 14 missed tackles.
26. Indianapolis Colts Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame
Heading into the offseason, the Colts are in the best shape of any team in the NFL. They have some very young All-Pros and a ton of cap space. Oh yeah, they also have this guy named Andrew Luck.
Although they can get him a new weapon here, I think they should go a different direction as T.Y. Hilton and Eric Ebron can hold their own.
With their first pick this April, the Colts should bolster their defensive line. Jerry Tillery showed during his time at Notre Dame that he can be downright dominant. Tillery is ranked as the third-best pass-rushing interior defensive linemen by Pro Football Focus, and it shows on tape. His hand usage is probably the best I’ve seen on tape this year.