The Cardinals focused on both sides of the line of scrimmage in a recent mock draft.
The NFL Draft is a mere days away, and the Arizona Cardinals will soon welcome their newest rookie class to the organization.
Ahead of Thursday night’s event, Pro Football Focus put together a full seven-round mock draft for each team, compiled by their team of analysts.
The Cardinals, in a somewhat unsurprising cycle of picks, opted to address mainly line of scrimmage players, especially in the first handful of rounds. Here are Arizona’s projected picks, according to PFF’s Max Chadwick:
Round 1, Pick 16: EDGE James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
PFF’s explanation:
“The Cardinals addressed their edge room this offseason by signing Josh Sweat to a $76 million deal, but they could still stand to improve at the other spot. Pearce was one of the best pass rushers in college football over the past two seasons, leading all FBS edge defenders in pressure rate (22.4%) over that span.”
Round 2, Pick 47: DL T.J. Sanders, South Carolina
PFF’s note:
“The Cardinals continue to bolster their defensive front with the addition of Sanders. He brings intriguing upside as a pass rusher, pairing quickness and length with a solid arsenal of moves — all of which helped him earn a career-best 81.9 pass-rush grade in 2024.”
Round 3, Pick 78: G Tate Ratledge, Georgia
PFF:
“Ratledge’s pass-blocking skills are about as clean as you’ll find of any interior lineman in this draft. He earned an 88.0 career PFF pass-blocking grade. He also had elite athletic testing numbers, but it didn’t always show up on tape. Arizona’s interior offensive line could use some work, and Ratledge would be a nice addition to protect Kyler Murray.”
Round 4, Pick 115: CB Nohl Williams, California
Round 5, Pick 152: T Ajani Cornelius, Oregon
Round 6 (Trade)
Round 7, Pick 225: QB Kyle McCord, Syracuse
The Cardinals pick line-of-scrimmage players with four of their first five picks, going with a star edge prospect in the first round and an interior DL in the second, before going after a pair of OL and a day-three corner.
It’s not entirely clear what the details of PFF’s simulated trade are for the Cardinals, but the Denver Broncos do end up with Arizona’s sixth-round pick.
Lastly, Arizona takes a flier on one of the more intriguing QB prospects in Kyle McCord, likely seen as either a developmental future contributor, or a backup to usurp Clayton Tune’s QB3 designation. Kyler Murray and Jacoby Brissett won’t be shaken from QB1 and QB2 barring injury.