The Arizona Cardinals appear pretty set at the safety position. They have an All-Pro in Budda Baker. They have Jalen Thompson, a player in whom the team has a lot of faith. Then they have a group of solid replacements and special teams players.
It is a position that really no one sees them addressing on Day 1 or Day 2 of the 202 NFL draft.
However, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah suggests that the Cardinals could and should consider a safety in the first round if their preferred targets are not available.
The presumed players the Cardinals want are cornerbacks Patrick Surtain and Jaycee Horn and receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith. If none of them are available with the 16th pick, Jeremiah believes they should consider TCU safety Trevon Moehrig.
“Safety, to me, Moehrig from TCU is the best safety in the draft,” Jeremiah said on a conference call with the media on Wednesday. “That’s right
about where I have him.”
Using a baseball metaphor, Jeremiah called Moehrig “like a double off the wall.”
He cited former Baltimore Ravens Ozzie Newsome and what he told him when he was a scout in Baltimore.
“You get carried away in the first round trying to hit home runs and swing for the fences,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with a double. Moehrig, to me, if you got wiped out at wideout, that’s not a bad way to go.”
If the Cardinals went this direction, it would be surprising. Moehrig could be a good player, but they could address other positions of greater need or value.
That said, considering Thompson was injured most of the season, he might not be the worst option.
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