2019 NFL Mock Draft: Kinnan’s final first-round projection

Linebackers go in back-to-back picks as the Cincinnati Bengals use the 11th pick in the draft to select Michigan linebacker, Devin Bush Jr. While this writer has Bush ranked higher than White, it is of the popular opinion White will be the first off the board.

After cutting ties with embattled linebacker Vontaze Burfict, the Bengals now have a need at the second level of their 4-3 defense. To be fair, it was a need before they released Burfict, but it now stands out as a glaring hole on the roster.

At the combine, Bush ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, just 0.01 seconds slower than White, while testing more agile and explosive than his LSU counterpart. Bush hit 40.5 inches on his vertical jump, and 124 inches on his broad jump, both of which were better than White. In addition, he broke the seven-second mark on his 3-cone drill, testing as extremely agile.

The gap between White and Bush is razor thin, and in this mock draft, so is their draft positioning. The Bengals land a heat-seeking missile in Bush just outside of the top 10 in the draft and send him just a bit south of Ann Arbor, MI to Cincinnati.