2019 NFL Draft: First round reaction, recap, and where the Cowboys stand

The first round of the 2019 NFL Draft is officially in the books, and man alive were there some surprises.

Ultimately, some things went as people thought, shout out to all the mock drafts, including the first overall pick. Kyler Murray is among the newest quarterbacks in the league but he was far from the only signal-caller to hear his name called. It was a first round that saw six trades and a handful of new players for the Cowboys to play against in the NFC East.

We discussed our takeaways on the latest episode of OchoLive.

The NFC East suddenly looks very different, especially Washington

One of the more predictable things from the first round was that the New York Giants would select Duke quarterback Daniel Jones. What do you know? They did it! The G-Men later used the first-rounder that they picked up in the Odell Beckham Jr. trade to draft Clemson’s Dexter Lawrence (good thing they didn’t get rid of Damon Harrison this offseason)... Dave Gettleman is a hero of ours.

Jones is regarded as a younger version of what Eli Manning offers which is, well, not great. Lawrence is a fine player but drafting a nose tackle with the 17th overall pick feels a little rich.

The Washington Redskins made much better use of their first selection by taking Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins. He didn’t look thrilled about it, but Washington might have their quarterback of the future.

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Once Manning is on his way out in New York, the quarterbacks in the NFC East will all be very young. Philadelphia’s got a new point of protection as the Eagles drafted one of the better tackles in Washington State’s Andre Dillard. Philly had to jump three spots to get their guy and it cost them fourth- and sixth-round picks, but he’s a solid player.

Washington made it so that the Giants weren’t the only team to pick twice on the night when they traded up for the 26th pick. It cost them the 46th overall selection plus their second-rounder next season, but they landed Mississippi State’s Montez Sweat which has the potential to really alter their defense.

But then the Giants got back in the game! They traded up to the 30th overall pick (which ultimately went from the Saints to the Packers to the Seahawks to New York) and took Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker, the first corner off the board.

This marked the first time that the Giants had three picks in the first round, but two of them are going to be heavily criticized for a long time. Meanwhile the Eagles picked up a very promising tackle, but the Redskins clearly stole the night. In landing Haskins and Sweat, they picked up potentially elite talents at two of the most important positions in football. That’s not ideal.

Giants fans absolutely hate their new quarterback

While it’s fun to speculate on careers, we ultimately don’t know what players are going to become. As mentioned the Giants took Duke’s Daniel Jones and, well, our friends at Big Blue View are not happy about it.

It sucked to watch Washington get a lot better, but at least we still have the Giants.

The 27th overall pick stung a little

Ultimately the Cowboys spent their 2019 first-round pick wisely, but there was still a player taken with the selection. The Oakland Raiders took Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram.

This was a player that a lot of Cowboys fans had draft crushes on. Abram was the second safety to go off the board overall after Darnell Savage went to the Green Bay Packers, while it was totally predictable it still stings to watch it happen. Especially considering this was the pick that originally belonged to the Cowboys.

Oh well. Still worth it.

Overall the board looks good for the Cowboys entering day two

Only two safeties went in the first round, and they were both players who we figured weren’t going to last until 58 anyway. That is obviously a huge need for Dallas and if one of their targets lasts until they pick on Friday night, then they’re going to be very happy.

Interestingly, only three quarterbacks went in the first round which could be good news for the Cowboys. At some point there will be a mini run, likely on Friday, from teams that want to get guys after a day’s worth of stewing on it.

Friday looks to be promising for the Dallas Cowboys. We’re so close to finally picking.