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Ranking the best prospects at each position in the 2019 NFL Draft

Andre Simone Avatar
April 25, 2019
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After ranking the top-200 prospects in the 2019 NFL Draft with our final big board, we’re also unveiling our position group rankings.

You’ll also find the grades for each position to assess which is the strongest group in 2019, plus a link for our full breakdown of each of the Denver Broncos biggest need areas in the descriptions below.

Let’s dig in.

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACKS

Grade: B-

The depth of this quarterback class is intriguing with eight players in our top 100, which means there’s lots of starter potential here, though the majority project to be average at best in that capacity. However, the top three are really talented and could be franchise-caliber quarterbacks, upping the value of this class significantly.

We previewed the class here.

1. Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State

2. Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma

3. Drew Lock, QB, Missouri

4. Brett Rypien, QB, Boise State

5. Daniel Jones, QB, Duke

6. Jordan Ta’amu, QB, Ole Miss

7. Will Grier, QB, West Virginia

8. Ryan Finley, QB, NC State

9. Tyree Jackson, QB, Buffalo

10. Jarrett Stidham, QB, Auburn

Others with a draftable grade:

Gardner Minshew, QB, Washington State

Clayton Thorson, QB, Northwestern

RUNNING BACKS

Grade: C-

Receiving an A a year ago, this year’s class is lacking in top-end talent, as even the top two are big gambles and Jacobs is the only player in our top 50. However, there’s depth, with 18 draftable players, 13 of which profile as backups and depth pieces.

1. Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama

2. Rodney Anderson, RB, Oklahoma

3. Darrell Henderson, RB, Memphis

4. Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State

5. Justice Hill, RB, Oklahoma State

6. Trayveon Williams, RB, Texas A&M

7. Damien Harris, RB, Alabama

8. David Montgomery, RB, Iowa State

9. Elijah Holyfield, RB, Georgia

10. James Williams, RB, Washington State

Others with a draftable grade:

Alexander Mattison, RB, Boise State

Mike Weber, RB, Ohio State

Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic

Bryce Love, RB, Stanford

Bennie Snell Jr., RB, Kentucky

Dexter Williams, RB, Notre Dame

Darwin Thompson, RB, Utah State

Myles Gaskin, RB, Washington

WIDE RECEIVERS

Grade: B+

Wide receiver is another deep class only there’s more depth at the top, even if there isn’t a true top-10 talent. At the end of the day, we have seven players in the top-50, 13 projected starters in the top-100 and a whopping 23 roster-worthy players. That’s pretty solid in a league where you can never have enough good wideouts.

We previewed the class here.

1. D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss

2. Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma

3. Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State

4. Deebo  Samuel, WR, South Carolina

5. N’Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State

6. A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss

7. JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford

8. Terry McLaurin, WR, Ohio State

9. Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State

10. Riley Ridley, WR, Georgia

Others with a draftable grade:

Kelvin Harmon, WR, NC State

Preston Williams, WR, Colorado State

Andy Isabella, WR, UMass

David Sills, WR, West Virginia

Gary Jennings, WR, West Virginia

Antoine Wesley, WR, Texas Tech

Emanuel Hall, WR, Missouri

Dillon Mitchell, WR, Oregon

Penny Hart, WR, Georgia State

Miles Boykin, WR, Notre Dame

Lil’Jordan Humphrey, WR, Texas

KeeSean Johnson, WR, Fresno State

Stanley Morgan Jr., WR, Nebraska

TIGHT ENDS

Grade: B

What a difference a year makes, as 2018 tight end class received a D+, while this group is loaded with six top-100 prospects and 14 draftable players. The top six are especially intriguing and could be top-10 NFL-caliber players for years to come.

We previewed the class here.

1. T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa

2. Irv Smith Jr., TE, Alabama

3. Noah Fant, TE, Iowa

4. Kahale Warring, TE, San Diego State

5. Jace Sternberger, TE, Texas A&M

6. Foster Moreau, TE, LSU

7. Caleb Wilson, TE, UCLA

8. Dawson Knox, TE, Ole Miss

9. Josh Oliver, TE, San Jose State

10. Kaden Smith, TE, Stanford

Others with a draftable grade:

Drew Sample, TE, Washington

Dax Reymond, TE, Utah State

Isaac Nauta, TE, Georgia

Alize Mack, TE, Notre Dame

OFFENSIVE TACKLES

Grade: B+

This is another deep class with 10 projected starters and 16 who are NFL-worthy. As seems to be the trend with these offensive positions, the high-end talent isn’t overwhelming but there are lots of strong future NFL contributors in this group.

1. Jonah Williams, LT, Alabama

2. Andre Dillard, LT, Washington State

3. Jawaan Taylor, RT, Florida

4. Cody Ford, RT, Oklahoma

5. Dalton Risner, RT, Kansas State

6. Yodny Cajuste, LT, West Virginia

7. Greg Little, LT, Ole Miss

8. Kaleb McGary, RT, Washington

9. Max Scharping, OT, Northern Illinois

10. Tytus Howard, OT, Alabama State

Others with a draftable grade:

David Edwards, RT, Wisconsin

Chuma Edoga, RT, USC

Mitch Hyatt, OT, Clemson

Isaiah Prince, RT, Ohio State

Martez Ivey, OT, Florida

Bobby Evans, OT, Oklahoma

INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINE

Grade: C+

The top eight players on the interior offensive line are really strong and it’s an especially talented center class. Don’t forget, plenty of the tackles could end up converting inside, so there are more options beyond just the 12 we have here, but these are really the headliners of the class, many of whom should be early contributors.

We previewed the class here.

1. Garrett Bradbury, OC, NC State

2. Chris Lindstrom, OG, Boston College

3. Elgton Jenkins, OC, Mississippi State

4. Michael Jordan, OC, Ohio State

5. Erik McCoy, OC, Texas A&M

6. Michael Deiter, OL, Wisconsin

7. Beau Benzschawel, OG, Wisconsin

8. Connor McGovern, G, Penn State

9. Dru Samia, OG, Oklahoma

10. Nate Davis, OG, Charlotte

Others with a draftable grade:

Ben Powers, OC, Oklahoma

Ross Pierschbacher, OC, Alabama

DEFENSE

INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINE

Grade: A

Welcome to the cream of the crop of this draft, with an absurd 10 players in the top-50. It does drop off a bit in the middle rounds but the depth by day three is good as well with 18 draft-worthy prospects in all.

We previewed the class here.

1. Quinnen Williams, DL, Alabama

2. Ed Oliver, DT, Houston

3. Rashan Gary, DL, Michigan

4. Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame

5. Jeffrey Simmons, DT, Mississippi State

6. Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson

7. Zach Allen, DL/DE, Boston College

8. Dre’Mont Jones, DL, Ohio State

9. Gerald Willis III, DT, Miami

10. Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson

Others with a draftable grade:

John Cominsky, DL, Charleston

Khalen Saunders, DT, Western Illinois

Trysten Hill, DT, UCF

Isaiah Buggs, DT, Alabama

Daylon Mack, DT, Texas A&M

Greg Gaines, NT, Washington

Renell Wren, DL, Arizona State

Dontavius Russell, DT, Auburn

EDGE RUSHERS

Grade: A+

Just when you thought it couldn’t get better than the interior defensive line, the edge rushers blow them out of the water with a dominant six prospects in our top 15, 13 in the top 100 and 27 in all.

That means there’s a lot of depth, with lots of projected rotational players beyond all the star power.

Small aside, a player marked as an “EDGE” is interchangeable and can easily play as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 or a defensive end in a 4-3. A player marked as an “OLB” is ideally suited at outside backer in a 3-4 and a player marked as a “DE” is best as a 4-3 end.

1. Nick Bosa, EDGE, Ohio State

2. Josh Allen, OLB, Kentucky

3. Brian Burns, EDGE, Florida State

4. Clelin Ferrell, EDGE, Clemson

5. Montez Sweat, EDGE, Mississippi State

6. Rashan Gary, DL, Michigan

7. Chase Winovich, EDGE, Michigan

8. Jachai Polite, EDGE, Florida

9. DeAndre Walker, OLB, Georgia

10. Charles Omenihu, DE, Texas

Others with a draftable grade:

Maxx Crosby, EDGE, Eastern Michigan

L.J. Collier, EDGE, TCU

Christian Miller, OLB, Alabama

Jaylon Ferguson, DE, Louisiana Tech

Anthony Nelson, DE, Iowa

Austin Bryant, EDGE, Clemson

Joe Jackson, EDGE, Miami

Justin Hollins, OLB, Oregon

Jalen Jelks, DE, Oregon

Malik Reed, EDGE, Nevada

Jordan Brailford, DE, Oklahoma State

Carl Granderson, EDGE, Wyoming

Ben Banogu, EDGE, TCU

Sutton Smith, EDGE, Northern Illinois

Porter Gustin, EDGE, USC

Oshane Ximines, EDGE, Old Dominion

Andrew Van Ginkel, EDGE, Wisconsin

OFF-BALL LINEBACKERS

Grade: C+

Last year’s linebacker class received an A- as there was plenty of depth at the top, that’s not the case here as the group is clearly divided after the top five, and then again after the top nine. The depth is there with 20 draftable prospects but less than half project to start or be three-down players.

We previewed the class here.

1. Devin White, LB, LSU

2. Devin Bush, LB, Michigan

3. Mack Wilson, LB, Alabama

4. Terrill Hanks, LB, New Mexico State

5. Drue Tranquill, LB, Notre Dame

6. Germaine Pratt, LB, NC State

7. Vosean Joseph, LB, Florida

8. Bobby Okereke, LB, Stanford

9. Blake Cashman, LB, Minnesota

10. Te’von Coney, LB, Notre Dame

Others with a draftable grade:

Drew Lewis, LB, Colorado

Chase Hansen, LB, Utah

Jahlani Tavai, LB, Hawaii

Tre Lamar, LB, Clemson

Gary Johnson, LB, Texas

Ben Burr-Kirven, LB, Washington

David Long, LB, West Virginia

Joe Giles-Harris, LB, Duke

Kendall Joseph, LB, Clemson

T.J. Edwards, LB, Wisconsin

CORNERBACKS

Grade: B-

The depth for this cornerback class lies in the day two range, as there are only four top-50 prospects but 14 in the top 100. So while you might not find stars, there are a lot of potential starters. Considering every team needs cornerbacks, this should be a welcome sign.

1. Andraez ‘Greedy’ Williams, CB, LSU

2. Byron Murphy, CB, Washington

3. DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia

4. Joejuan Williams, CB, Vanderbilt

5. Justin Layne, CB, Michigan State

6. Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson

7. Julian Love, CB, Notre Dame

8. Rock Ya-Sin, CB, Temple

9. Lonnie Johnson Jr., CB, Kentucky

10. Sean Bunting, CB, Central Michigan

Others with a draftable grade:

David Long, CB, Michigan

Jamel Dean, CB, Auburn

Amani Oruwariye, CB, Penn State

Kris Boyd, CB, Texas

Isaiah Johnson, CB, Houston

Ken Webster, CB, Ole Miss

Jordan Miller, CB, Washington

Saivion Smith, CB, Alabama

Kendall Sheffield, CB, Ohio State

Mark Fields, CB, Clemson

Jimmy Moreland, CB, James Madison

SAFETIES

Grade: B

There might not be a ton of first-round locks in this group, but with five prospects in the top 50 and eight in the top 100, there are a lot of projected starters in the class. It’s also a fun and diverse group with lots of versatility and different scheme fits.

1. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, CB/S, Florida

2. Darnell Savage Jr., S, Maryland

3. Deionte Thompson, FS, Alabama

4. Johnathan Abram, SS, Mississippi State

5. Taylor Rapp, S, Washington

6. Nasir Adderley, CB/S, Delaware

7. Marvell Tell III, FS, USC

8. Amani Hooker, S, Iowa

9. Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia

10. Ugo Amadi, S, Oregon

Others with a draftable grade:

Marquise Blair, S, Utah

Mike Edwards, S, Kentucky

Zedrick Woods, S, Ole Miss

Andrew Wingard, S, Wyoming

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