What to make of Kliff Kingsbury’s comments about No. 1 pick overall
By Bryan Perez
The Arizona Cardinals own the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, and according to coach Kliff Kingsbury, all options are still on the table.
Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury sat with NFL Network’s Steve Wyche Saturday and answered some to-the-point questions about the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Specifically, Kingsbury addressed the current state of the team’s draft plan and whether that plan includes Oklahoma QB, Kyler Murray.
“I think everything’s on the table,” Kingsbury said. “When you have that first pick, you’ve gotta turn over every stone and look at every scenario that’s out there, and so we’re definitely doing that.”
Kingsbury may be a first-year head coach, but he provided well-schooled answers in an effort to keep the Cardinals’ strategy close to the vest. It makes sense that he would do that, too. If he gushed over Murray or provided any hint that Arizona is going to draft him, any trade value for Josh Rosen, the Cardinals’ first-rounder in 2018, would plummet.
Must Read. 49ers 7-round mock draft. light
It’s hard to believe Arizona, with a little over one month to go until they’re officially on the clock, hasn’t circled their preferred pick at this point. But that’s exactly what Kingsbury wants fans to believe.
“We haven’t [decided what we’re going to do with the top pick],” he said. “We’re a long ways from that. You know, coaches on the road, scouts from the road, private workouts, pro days. And we won’t even discuss until next week and try to fill our board and go from there.”
Sure, it’s possible the Cardinals are still debating between two or even three players for the first pick. Prospects like Nick Bosa (Edge, Ohio State) and Josh Allen (Edge, Kentucky) are both worth an extra film session or two before finalizing Murray as the guy, but if Kingsbury and the Arizona front office are even considering Murray at No. 1, then it’ll be a hard sell to believe they’ll go in any other direction.
Kingsbury said the Cardinals’ assessment of Rosen hasn’t changed and that the organization is still very high on him, as they should be; he’s going to be a big trade asset for them once they select Murray to kick off this year’s draft.