The Arizona Cardinals made Heisman Trophy-winning Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn.
The San Francisco 49ers then selected Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa with the second overall pick, and the New York Jets followed by taking Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams third overall, after reported attempts to trade down.
Murray became the first person ever to be a first-round pick in both the Major League Baseball and NFL drafts, after the Oakland Athletics drafted him ninth overall last summer. Murray pledged to pay back his $4.66 million signing bonus to the A’s when announcing in February that he would be committed to football full-time moving forward.
Murray threw for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns with seven interceptions last year while leading Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff. He also rushed for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns.
After former teammate and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield went first overall last year to the Cleveland Browns, Murray’s selection marks the first time since 1968-69 that the top pick in back-to-back years came from the same school (offensive tackle Ron Yary in 1968, running back O.J. Simpson in 1969, Southern California).
The pick of Bosa deepened the legacy of one of football’s most accomplished families.
Bosa, widely considered the draft’s best or second-best player, wound up going one pick higher than his brother, Joey Bosa, whom the then-San Diego Chargers took third overall in 2016.
Their father, John Bosa, was also a first-round defensive end, taken 16th overall by the Miami Dolphins in 1987. A uncle of Joey Bosa and Nick Bosa, Eric Kumerow, was also a defensive end drafted 16th overall by Miami in 1988.
Nick Bosa was limited to three games for the Buckeyes in 2018 due to a core muscle injury, but he still managed four sacks and six tackles for loss. He had 8.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in 2017 as a true sophomore.
Williams, whom some put ahead of Bosa as the draft’s top player, came out of nowhere last season to become a consensus All-American and win the Outland Trophy winner, given to the best interior lineman in college football. After working as a rotational player in 2017, Williams racked up eight sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in as a redshirt sophomore in 2018.
The pick marked the 11th straight year in which an Alabama player has gone in the first round.
The fourth pick of the draft brought the first major surprise, with the Oakland Raiders opting for Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell.
Ferrell was widely expected to be a first-round pick, but few pegged him as a top-10 selection, and almost no mock drafts had him in the top five.
A redshirt junior, Ferrell was extremely productive in college, finishing with 27 sacks and 50.5 tackles for loss in 43 games, including 11.5 and 20, respectively, in 15 games in 2018.
Tampa Bay followed at No. 5 by taking LSU linebacker Devin White, who was widely expected to be a top target of the Buccaneers.
White racked up 256 tackles (25.5 for loss), 7.5 sacks, nine pass breakups and one interception over the last two seasons for the Tigers, winning the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in 2018.
