49ers Take Over as Favorites to Pick 1st Overall in the 2019 NFL Draft
By Robert Duff in NFL Football
Updated: April 2, 2020 at 7:48 am EDTPublished:
- The San Francisco 49ers currently hold the No. 1 overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft
- Books believe that San Francisco will hang onto the position
- The 49ers most recently made the first overall pick of the NFL Draft in 2005
This was supposed to be a big year for the San Francisco 49ers.
Led by wonder kid Jimmy Garappolo, there was even some speculation that San Fran could give the Los Angeles Rams a run for the money in the NFC West.
Then Garappolo suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 against Kansas City, and the wheels came off the 49ers’ year.
#49ers Jimmy Garoppolo is off crutches and watching today’s practice for #Bucs. Nick Mullens will make his third start and first on road pic.twitter.com/RL69YX958V
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) November 21, 2018
Minus Garappolo, the 49ers are 1-7. They’ve scored fewer than 20 points in four of those games. Four of the seven defeats were by double-digit margins. San Francisco is 0-6 this season on the road.
The 49ers would pick first-overall in the 2019 NFL Draft if the season ended today, and sportsbooks don’t expect that situation to change, listing San Francisco as the favorite to make the first overall selection of the 2019 NFL draft.
Odds to Pick First in 2019 NFL Draft
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | Even |
| Arizona Cardinals | +200 |
| Oakland Raiders | +325 |
| New York Jets | +1200 |
| New York Giants | +1800 |
The 49ers, Cardinals and Raiders all share an NFL-worst 2-9 record. But only one will get the choice between top prospects Nick Bosa, Ed Oliver, and Justin Herbert.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have beaten the Raiders this season, their only win since Garoppolo was injured.
But they are 0-2 against the Cardinals. Win-less on the road, they go to Seattle and the Los Angeles Rams, and play host to the Seahawks, Broncos, and Bears. Â
The 49ers, Cardinals, and Raiders are all 2-9, but the 49ers have a point differential of -54, compared to Arizona's -138 and Oakland's -140.
The 49ers aren't great, but they probably aren't as bad as we think
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) November 28, 2018
San Francisco’s strength of schedule in its remaining games is .455, the lowest of the NFL’s three bottom feeders.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have claimed both of their victories this season at the expense of the 49ers, so there’s that.
But with upcoming games the next three weeks against the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, and Atlanta Falcons, they should find another win somewhere in there.
Arizona Cardinals have the third pick in the 2019 NFL Draft…. For now https://t.co/VpHmqxUF6G pic.twitter.com/EpVu4GlDDN
— Revenge of the Birds (@revengeofbirds) November 28, 2018
Arizona’s strength of schedule in its remaining games is .533, the highest among these three teams.
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have beaten the Cardinals and Browns.
But they were also drubbed 34-3 by the 49ers. This team has been a hot mess from the get go, the choice to bring back old coach Jon Gruden on a 10-year contract looking like the worst decision since new Coke.
With a .517 strength of schedule, Oakland must still face the Chiefs (twice), Steelers and Broncos, along with the Bengals. The way it’s gone south for the Silver and Black this season, you just know that they will find a way to bottom out.
Bet the Raiders to be the worst of them all.
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
