Free Press writer Dave Birkett offers his predictions for the 2019 NFL draft with his first mock draft of the year:

1. Arizona Cardinals

DE Nick Bosa, Ohio State: If new coach Kliff Kingsbury truly believes Kyler Murray is the answer, the Cardinals have to consider him at No. 1 even though they took Josh Rosen last year.

2. San Francisco 49ers

DT Quinnen Williams, Alabama: The 49ers have a bigger need for an edge rusher, but Williams and Bosa are the top two talents in this draft.

3. New York Jets

OLB Josh Allen, Kentucky: I wanted to give young quarterback Sam Darnold some help, but no one fits the bill at No. 3.

4. Oakland Raiders

QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma: Jon Gruden was drooling over Murray at the Senior Bowl, and that was before Murray committed full-time to the NFL.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

OL Jonah Williams, Alabama: The Bucs could be in a sweet trade-down spot considering they pick in front of two quarterback-needy teams. Here, though, they take the best offensive lineman available.

6. New York Giants

QB Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State: The Giants passed on Darnold last year. They can’t wait another season to nab their quarterback of the future.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars

DE Rashan Gary, Michigan: With both quarterbacks off the board, the Jaguars take another first-round defensive lineman — this time one who’ll stick at end.

8. Detroit Lions

LB Devin White, LSU: The Lions have filled a position of need in the first round in all three of their drafts under GM Bob Quinn, so this is a bit out of character, and maybe it changes the next time I do a mock. But White is one of the top five players in the draft, at a position Matt Patricia reveres. He’s absolutely worthy of the No. 8 pick.

9. Buffalo Bills

OT Jawaan Taylor, Florida: I was tempted to slot Oklahoma receiver Marquise Brown here to Buffalo, but for now Lisfranc surgery pushes him out of the top 10.

10. Denver Broncos

CB Greedy Williams, LSU:Denver’s once mighty secondary has slipped in recent years and Williams is the No. 1 cover man in the draft.

11. Cincinnati Bengals

DT Ed Oliver, Houston: This is a bit of a blind projection as the Bengals don’t currently have a defensive coordinator, but the defense is old and Oliver is too good to slip any further.

12. Green Bay Packers

WR Marquise Brown, Oklahoma: Did you see who Aaron Rodgers was throwing to last year? The explosive Brown seems like a good chess piece for new coach Matt LaFleur.

13. Miami Dolphins

CB Byron Murphy, Washington: If the Dolphins aren’t keen on paying Xavien Howard, or even if they are, they need a corner like a Murphy for new coach Brian Flores’ defense.

14. Atlanta Falcons

DT Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State: Simmons may slide further down draft boards after tearing his ACL, but from a talent standpoint he’d be a steal at No. 14.

15. Washington

OLB Brian Burns, Florida State: I don’t imagine Preston Smith returns, and Burns could help Washington’s pass rush.

16. Carolina Panthers

TE T.J. Hockenson, Iowa: Greg Olsen can’t stay healthy, and Hockenson is the most well-rounded of the tight ends in this year’s draft.

17. Cleveland Browns

OT Andre Dillard, Washington State: The Browns finished last year with Greg Robinson playing left tackle.

18. Minnesota Vikings

OL Cody Ford, Oklahoma: It’s a run on linemen! Ford can play right tackle or guard and the Vikings weren’t very good up front in 2018.

19. Tennessee Titans

TE Irv Smith, Alabama: Delanie Walker turns 35 in August and Smith would bring a different dimension to an offense that doesn’t have many big-play threats.

20. Pittsburgh Steelers

CB DeAndre Baker, Georgia: The Steelers benched 2016 first-round pick Artie Burns last year, and Baker would be an immediate upgrade.

21. Seattle Seahawks

DE Montez Sweat, Mississippi State: Sweat has some off-field concerns from his time at Michigan State to answer for, but nothing the Seahawks won’t be willing to overlook.

22. Baltimore Ravens

WR D.K. Metcalf, Ole Miss: The Ravens haven’t been great at drafting receivers, but they need to roll the dice on one again for Lamar Jackson’s sake.

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23. Houston Texans

OT Greg Little, Ole Miss: It’s a run on Ole’ Miss products! And the Texans had the worst offensive line in the league last year.

24. Oakland Raiders

DE Clelin Ferrell, Clemson: Ferrell doesn’t have the upside of some of the draft’s top pass rushers, but he could wind up much higher than this as he did nothing but produce at Clemson.

25. Philadephia Eagles

RB Josh Jacobs, Alabama: The Eagles finished 28th in rushing last season and Jacobs is probably the best back in this draft.

26. Indianapolis Colts

DT Christian Wilkins, Clemson: Wilkins gets off-the-charts marks for his character and is versatile enough to wear a number of hats for the Colts’ front.

27. Oakland Raiders

LB Devin Bush, Michigan: He’s not the biggest linebacker, but Bush was the best player on Michigan’s defense last year.

28. Los Angeles Chargers

DT Dexter Lawrence, Clemson: Clemson had the best defensive line in college football last season, so no surprise three Tigers go in Round 1.

29. Kansas City Chiefs

OLB Jachai Polite, Florida: The Chiefs will franchise Dee Ford, but if Polite’s available they could take him and groom him as Ford’s replacement.

30. Green Bay Packers

DL Dre’Mont Jones, Ohio State: It’s a deep year for defensive linemen, but with two first-round picks the Packers snag one here rather than wait till Day 2.

31. Los Angeles Rams

S Deionte Thompson, Alabama: Thompson didn’t play great down the stretch, which will hurt his draft stock, but I still believe he’ll have a long and productive NFL career.

32. New England Patriots

CB Joejuan Williams, Vanderbilt: Almost everyone projects the Patriots to take a quarterback here, but I’m not sure Daniel Jones or Drew Lock are worth a first-round pick.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter.