And with the first overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals picked …
Kyler Murray, quarterback from the Oklahoma Sooners.
The 21-year-old Heisman Trophy winner became the first player to take to the stage in Nashville, Tennessee, Thursday night as thousands of football fans gathered in the Music City to see who would become the next Baker Mayfield or Jared Goff.
It didn’t take the San Francisco 49ers long to announce their number two pick of Nick Bosa, defensive end for Ohio State. The choice also made the Bosa family the second family after the Mannings to have a father and two sons all go in the first round of the NFL Draft (brother Joey Bosa plays for the Los Angeles Chargers and dad, John Bosa, was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1987.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell kicked off the action at 7 p.m. CT with the immortal words: “The Arizona Cardinals are on the clock.” The Phoenix-based team took their sweet time to announce their pick, and let the counter tick down for the whole 15 minute-allowance before making it official.
The choice of Murray was heavily-hyped in the weeks approaching the NFL Draft, with many pundits expecting new Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury to opt for a change at quarterback after Josh Rosen was drafted by his predecessor Steve Wilks with the 10th overall pick last year.
It also reunited Kingsbury with Murray out of Allen High School near Dallas to Texas Tech and the two have remained close. Murray also played in a version of the Air Raid offense — which Kingsbury ran at Texas Tech and has since brought with him to Arizona — while at Oklahoma, ESPN reported.
The Cardinals went 3-13 in the 2018 season and have missed the playoffs for three years straight.
“Good Morning America” co-host Robin Roberts emceed the opening night of the annual three-day event, which made its move from ESPN to sister network ABC.
Roberts was joined on a different set by ESPN host Rece Davis and the “College Gameday” crew.