2019 NFL Mock Draft: 49ers shock at No. 1, Giants replace Eli

By Randy Gurzi | Oct 13, 2018

OXFORD, MS - OCTOBER 14: Wide receiver A.J. Brown #1 of the Mississippi Rebels looks to maneuver the ball by safety Ryan White #14 of the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) /

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HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 04: Ed Oliver #10 of the Houston Cougars celebrates after a tackle in the first half against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at TDECU Stadium on October 4, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

2. Arizona Cardinals: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston

The Arizona Cardinals made a big change to their defense this season when they hired Steve Wilks as head coach. Gone was the 3-4 run by their former defensive coordinator and in its place is the 4-3 base that Wilks ran while in Carolina as their defensive coordinator.

Anytime you switch schemes, you need two things — time to learn the new concepts, and players who fit the system better. So far, they’ve been trying to get Chandler Jones and Markus Golden up to speed as edge rushers and there’s hope that will work out. What hasn’t been good is the play of their interior defensive linemen.

Olsen Pierre, Robert Nkemdiche and Corey Peters haven’t been playing at a high level and that’s a big reason for why the Cards are finishing with the No. 2 pick in this 2019 NFL Mock Draft.

With that selection, they make their entire defense better by taking the best defensive tackle — and possibly the best overall player — in Ed Oliver. The Houston defender wrecks offensive gameplans as he can destroy running games and passing games with his pressure.

With a full season under the new defense and a talent like Oliver, Arizona could be a lot better at slowing teams down in 2019.

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