Tuesday morning buzz … Couple of general thoughts to kick off this morning’s rendition. First, there seems to be a general consensus around the NFL that the 2019 draft lacks the elite talent of some previous years. but on the flip side is one of the deeper drafts we’ve seen of late. On the first point, for example, there are teams around the league that have as few as 15-16 players rated as legit first-round prospects. On the other hand, the feeling appears to be that teams are going to be able to get decent mid-second day type prospects well into the fourth round. That depth is particularly noticeable at several position including WR, safety, RB, edge rushers, DTs and ILBs.
Back to the first-round for a moment, it also appears that while there is pretty wide agreement on which players make up the top 2-3 prospects, there is disagreement on who fits where right after that. Long-time NFL draft guru Mel Kiper, for example, released his final Big Board over on ESPN earlier today and while one needs a subscription to get the full ranking, the top 10 are available for public consumption. Kiper sticks to form with DE Nick Bosa and DT Quinnen Williams as his top two prospects, but then tosses in a couple of surprises including LBs Devin White and Devin Bush at #s 3 and 5 respectively. We had also intended to note that Bush, in particular, appears to be a ‘hot’ prospect as the draft nears, although what we are picking up is that he is more likely in the 10-12 range. Meanwhile, Kiper has QBs Kyler Murray and Dwayne Haskins are at #s 6 and 7. OLB Josh Allen at #4 and TE T.J. Hockenson at #8, DT Ed Oliver at #9 and OLB Montez Sweat at #10 round out his top ten.
One notable player missing from Kiper’s top ten is Clemson DT Christian Wilkins who we are hearing is also approaching the ‘hot’ category. According to what we are hearing, Wilkins is still behind Williams and Oliver on the DT board, as he lacks their pas-rush upside, but teams are really impressed with his overall game including his motor and versatility.
