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The Arizona Cardinals are officially on the clock with the No. 1 overall selection as the 2019 NFL Draft takes place from Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday night. This will be the 84th annual event in the history of the League.
Coverage of the draft (Round 1 on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET; Rounds 2-3 on Friday at 7 p.m. ET; Rounds 4-7 on Saturday at noon ET) will be televised on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the draft on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages. All four included ESPN and ABC (live in select markets), while the upper three bundles include NFL Network.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the draft on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
NFL Network is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports. ESPN and ABC are not included.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the draft on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch events on-demand within three days of their conclusion, even if you don’t record them.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including ESPN and ABC (live in select markets). NFL Network is not included.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the draft on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
2019 NFL Draft Preview
Round 1 will begin with probably some boos for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday, continuing with both Round 2 and Round 3 on Friday, and concluding with the remaining four rounds on Saturday. The Cardinals, who finished 3-13 last season, hold the No. 1 pick. The San Francisco 49ers will select second, the New York Jets third, Oakland Raiders fourth, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers round out the top five selections, for now, on Thursday.
Here is an updated list of the current draft order for Round 1:
1. Arizona Cardinals
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. New York Jets
4. Oakland Raiders
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6. New York Giants
7. Jacksonville Jaguars
8. Detroit Lions
9. Buffalo Bills
10. Denver Broncos
11. Cincinnati Bengals
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Miami Dolphins
14. Atlanta Falcons
15. Washington Redskins
16. Carolina Panthers
17. Giants (via the Cleveland Browns; Odell Beckham Jr. trade)
18. Minnesota Vikings
19. Tennessee Titans
20. Pittsburgh Steelers
21. Seattle Seahawks
22. Baltimore Ravens
23. Houston Texans
24. Raiders (via the Chicago Bears; Khlail Mack trade)
25. Philadelphia Eagles
26. Indianapolis Colts
27. Raiders (via the Dallas Cowboys; Amari Cooper trade)
28. Los Angeles Chargers
29. Seattle Seahawks (via the Kansas City Chiefs; Frank Clark trade)
30. Packers (from New Orleans Saints; Marcus Davenport 2018 Draft trade)
31. Los Angeles Rams
32. New England Patriots
Here is a complete look at all seven rounds and 254 total selections through Saturday.
Entering Thursday, the Patriots and Giants are each tied for the most selections in the 2019 NFL Draft with 12 apiece. The Seahawks, despite acquiring the Chiefs’ 2019 first-round draft pick in the recent Clark trade, and Bears are each tied for the least amount of selections with five. The notable franchises that, as of now, do not select in Round 2 are the Jets, Ravens, Seahawks, Bears and Rams.
Also of note; the Raiders, led by general manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden, have four selections in the first 35 and are likely to be active all weekend. Oakland also acquired Antonio Brown from the Steelers in the offseason for third and fifth-round draft picks, but will likely fill one hole and need to replace another as running back Marshawn Lynch, who played the past two seasons in the Bay Area after coming out of retirement, is reportedly retiring for good now after 11 NFL seasons.
The Cardinals hired former Texas Tech offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury as head coach, and have been linked to Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray throughout the entire draft process. Arizona is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Cleveland last year, who made another Oklahoma QB, Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick. The other player heavily linked to the first-overall selection is Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa, whose brother, Joey, currently plays for the Los Angeles Chargers. From there, is anybody’s guess.
Arizona’s selection will ultimately dictate the direction of the first round. By passing on Murray, the Raiders, who have also been heavily linked to the 2018 Heisman Trophy (just like Mayfield who won in 2017) winner, could maneuver and use extra selections to move to No. 2 or No. 3, depending on other teams. Other rumors around the NFL entering Thursday include the Redskins’ interest in acquiring a quarterback, preferably Ohio State product Dwayne Haskins (50 touchdowns in 2018), and Giants’ infatuation with Duke’s Daniel Jones, possibly as early as No. 6.
Good Morning Football host and FOX Sports NFL writer Peter Schrager leaked some valuable tidbits Wednesday elaborating on things to watch out for heading into Thursday:
Annual tradition… 10 nuggets I’m hearing the night before the Draft …
1. Three offensive tackles could go end up going top ten. Jawaan Taylor/Andre Dillard/Jonah Williams. Better chance of a team trading up for an OT than QB.
Though quarterbacks usually dominate draft discussion, this year’s crop is ultimately strongest on the defensive end, specifically in the trenches, with defensive backs bringing up the rear later in Round 1. Notable defensive players who will be discussed by analysts Thursday and will have a major impact on the activity throughout the course of Round 1 include:
Key 2019 NFL Draft Defensive Prospects:
Kentucky Defensive End/Outside Linebacker Josh Allen
Alabama Defensive Tackle/Interior Defensive Lineman Quinnen Williams
Mississippi State DE/OLB Montez Sweat
Houston DT Ed Oliver
Michigan DL Rashan Gary
LSU LB Devin White
Michigan LB Devin Bush
Mississippi State DT Jeffery Simmons (injury concerns due to torn ACL; documented history of domestic violence)
Clemson DE Clelin Ferrell
Clemson DT Christian Wilkins
Clemson DE/DT Dexter Lawrence (suspended for the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship Game for failing a drug test)
Georgia CB Deandre Baker
LSU Cornerback Greedy Williams
Temple CB Rock Ya-Sin
This year’s draft class also features multiple offensive linemen worth taking in the first round, some as high as the top 10. Included in that list are tackles Jonah Williams (Alabama) and Cody Ford (Oklahoma), as well as center Garrett Bradbury (NC State). Most of the OL players available in Round 1 are versatile, excel in both pass- and run-blocking, and will likely be impact players immediately at the next level.
What this particular draft class doesn’t have, though, is depth in skill-position players. After a streak of consecutive drafts with notable running backs and wide receivers selected in Round 1, this year may not have a player at either position picked on Thursday. The best bet would be Oklahoma WR Marquise Brown, who Schrager mentioned as a likely candidate to be the first receiver off the board. The other name to watch is D.K. Metcalf; although his production at Ole Miss was spotty, there is barely any body fat on him.
For a more detailed look at several of these prospects, including a bigger picture idea of how the first two days might go, The Ringer updated their 2019 NFL Draft Top 100 Guide on Wednesday. The 100-deep ranking should provide a good baseline and synopsis for how Rounds 1-3 play out, although the complete unpredictability is ultimately what makes the NFL Draft one of the most must-see events on the yearly sports calendar.
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