2019 NFL Mock Draft, 2.0: Post-free agency edition

Dalton Risner is one of my favorite players in this year’s draft class. He brings the kind of mean and nasty style of play that’s a prerequisite for the NFL and his experience all across the offensive line will make him an asset to a team like the Panthers who need help keeping Cam Newton upright.

The Giants will use the first-round pick they received from the Browns in the Odell Beckham, Jr. trade to add a blue-chip talent along the defensive line. Ed Oliver is a stud, and if he was more of a physical prototype, he’d be a top-five pick. It makes sense for New York to draft him, too; in this mock draft, they use Year 1 of their rebuild draft on an offensive and defensive lineman. It could be worse (I think.)

The Vikings offensive line has been terrible in recent seasons, and there’s little doubt it will be the position group Minnesota will target with their first pick. Cody Ford is the best lineman remaining on the board because of his ability to play tackle. He’s a Day-1 starter in 2019.

The Titans would have preferred T.J. Hockenson’s teammate, Noah Fant, with this pick because of his natural ability as a receiver, but they’ll gladly welcome Hockenson to the offense because of his well-rounded ability as a pass-catcher and blocker in the run game. He’s rated much higher than this by some draft analysts, so he could very well be off the board by the time Tennessee is on the clock. This would be a great value selection here.

I love this match of player and team with Devin Bush heading to Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ defense hasn’t been the same since losing Ryan Shazier to a neck injury in 2017, and they finally get a chance to add a top-tier athlete and tackling machine in Bush. The only thing hurting Bush in this year’s draft is the presence of Devin White.