Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort is known to make a deal or two (or three) come NFL Draft time.
Given where the team sits at No. 16 this time around, it wouldn’t be a shock by any means to see Arizona move off their first-round pick for added draft capital or a player.
That’s why NFL.com analyst Chad Reuter’s latest NFL mock draft released Tuesday makes a lot of sense in terms of what the Cardinals could do come April.
In his first three-round mock draft of the offseason, Reuter has Arizona trading its No. 16 overall pick and fifth-rounder to the Broncos in exchange for Denver’s No. 20 overall pick, plus a third- and sixth- rounder.
Even with the move down, the Cardinals still checked a big need off the checklist with the adding of Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons with the No. 20 pick.
Simmons has experience at both tackle spots and could potentially play inside to give the Cardinals their strongest five guys up front for Kyler Murray. Starting right tackle Jonah Williams missed all but six games this year and is a free agent in 2026, as well.
On top of Simmons’ versatility to play both outside and in, he also has an already established relationship with left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and newly added offensive line coach Justin Frye from their time at Ohio State together.
Either way Simmons fits in, it would benefit an offensive line that was plagued by injuries in 2024 and has multiple starters (Evan Brown, Kelvin Beachum, Will Hernandez) heading toward free agency.
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Cardinals with a potential second-round steal in latest NFL mock draft
The Cardinals may have opted for offensive line help in the first round of Reuter’s mock draft, but he still has Arizona landing premium edge help with Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. at No. 47 in the second round.
And given the fact the Pearce is getting a ton of first-round grades this offseason — with a lot of mock drafts linking the pass rusher to the Cardinals at No. 16 overall in the Arizona Sports Mock Draft Tracker — adding him into the mix with a second-round pick would be a steal.
After racking up 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss in 2023, the 6-foot-5, 243-pound Pearce finished up his college career with 7.5 sacks and 13 TFLs in 13 games played.
He would be an instant upgrade in an outside linebackers room currently led by Zaven Collins, who paced the Cardinals with 5.0 sacks last year.
Reuter wasn’t done helping out defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, either, using Arizona’s third-rounder picked up in the trade with Dener to nab Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker.
Walker posted 1.5 sacks and five tackles for loss last year and was a Senior Bowl standout.
#Kentucky DT Deone Walker is in fact, strong as hell #SeniorBowl pic.twitter.com/csNMLyGter
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) January 28, 2025
The Cardinals are one their way when it comes to adding young talent. Leading that front is 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson and 2023 sixth-rounder Dante Stills.
Arizona is expected to get veterans Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols back in the fold after both were lost for the season due to injury, but adding a player like Walker could go a long way in providing depth on a defense that loves rotating guys in.
One more position of need filled?
With Arizona’s original third-round pick at No. 78, Reuter has the Cardinals taking TCU wide receiver Savion Williams.
On top of his 60 catches for 611 yards and six touchdowns in 2024, Williams also rushed 51 times for 322 yards and six scores.
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has been known to experiment with wide receivers out of the backfield, having used Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch in the past.
The Cardinals could also use a deep threat to pair with No. 1 option Marvin Harrison Jr.
But is taking a wideout that high after adding Harrison with the No. 4 overall pick the smartest move given the other needs on the roster?
Because adding an interior offensive lineman or another defender just seems like the better move in the third round.
from Arizona Sports https://ift.tt/V8BHIc6
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