The NFL draft is a little more than a week away and ESPN’s Mel Kiper has his fourth mock draft. This one goes two rounds, although that doesn’t matter for the Arizona Cardinals because they don’t have a second-round pick.
Who is his pick for the Cardinals? It isn’t a surprise. Often connected to the Cardinals, Kiper projects they will take Iowa tackle Tristan Wirfs.
As I mentioned in my Mock Draft 3.0, I like the fit of Wirfs in Arizona, because he could start from Day 1 at right tackle and help protect Kyler Murray, who took way too many sacks as a rookie. Arizona could also target defensive line, even after it signed Jordan Phillips in free agency. If Derrick Brown is available here, the Cardinals would have a tough decision to make.
Many believe Brown is a player the Cardinals are heavily considering, but he is not on the board for Arizona in this mock draft.
In Kiper’s projections, Arizona is selecting the first tackle. The question then becomes if they will take Wirfs or a different tackle like Alabama’s Jedrick Wills, Georgia’s Andrew Thomas or Louisville’s Mekhi Becton. Wirfs and Wills don’t necessarily give the Cardinals position versatility. Wirfs has played some left tackle but doesn’t project there, while Wills has never played on the left side. Thomas and Becton both started at right tackle as freshmen before moving to left tackle and both project to the pros on the left side.
Will the Cardinals value that versatility, especially with current left tackle D.J. Humphries injury history, or will they go with what could be more of a sure thing as a stud right tackle.
These are answers that we will get soon enough, as the draft is next week.
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Ep. 263
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