The NFL combine has wrapped up and teams return home for the next stage of their NFL draft preparation. With interviews, measurements and athletic testing complete, we now will have another round of mock drafts.
In a new three-round mock draft from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, the Arizona Cardinals selected three defensive players in the four picks they have in the first three rounds of the draft.
Who do they land?
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Round 1: Alabama EDGE Will Anderson
The Cardinals get to pick the first non-quarterback in the draft and take Anderson over Georgia DT Jalen Carter, whose stock appears to have fallen after he was charged with reckless driving and racing in Georgia and was connected to the death of a teammate and staffer.
New Cardinals head coach and former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon spent more than half of his combine press conference defending his defensive strategies in Super Bowl LVII against an eager Philly media, which had Gannon with a thousand-yard stare after the first five minutes. His revenge tour should start with a premier edge-rusher in his new home, and from a pure pressure perspective, there are few in this class better prepared to do that than Anderson, who put up 14 sacks, nine quarterback hits, and 42 quarterback hurries in his 2022 season. That’s good enough, but if Anderson can replicate his 2021 season, which was even better, he’ll be a key epicenter of a defense with all kinds of needs.
Round 2: Florida DT Gervon Dexter
Dexter is 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds. He posted a 4.88-second 40 time at the combine.
In 2022, he had 55 tackles, two sacks, four tackles for loss and an interception.
Round 3: Oklahoma WR Marvin MIms
Mims is a burner at receiver. He is 5-11, 183 lbs and ran the 40 in 4.38 seconds. He has 56 catches for 1,083 yards and six touchdowns in 2022 for the Sooners. He gives the Cardinals another Oklahoma receiver to pair with Hollywood Brown, although he was never a teammate of quarterback Kyler Murray in college.
Round 3 (compensatory pick): Notre Dame S Brandon Joseph
After three seasons with Northwestern, Joseph played one for the Righting Irish and had 30 tackles and an interception.
He measured six-feet, 202 pounds and ran the 40 in 4.62 seconds.
