Draft Preview: Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals have a bright future with quarterback Kyler Murray who would go on to win the 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The Cardinals finished the season with a 5-10-1 record while having Kyler Murray as the starting quarterback as soon as he was drafted. The Cardinals have sky-high potential now they have a #1 receiver in Deandre Hopkins paired up with Larry Fitzgerald. Arizona still has holes to fill in their roster, though. Here are some positions the Cardinals could look to address in the draft.
Offensive Line:
The Cardinals tied for 5th with the most sacks given up by an offensive line with 50 and allowing the rookie quarterback to get hit a total of 69 times. Having your rookie quarterback who is already the franchise player get hit like that continuously isn’t exactly ideal. The Cardinals currently have 5 linemen that are set to become free agents, some notable players being starting right tackle Marcus Gilbert and starting center A.Q Shipley. Gilbert is entering his 10th season while Shipley is entering his 11th season. The Cardinals may hesitate to bring back both veterans. A prospect to look out for is offensive linemen Jedrick Wills out of Alabama who was blocking quarterback Tua Tagaovailoa’s blindside. Willis mainly played right tackle for Alabama and did very well as each year he improved in his game as he improved on his run blocking in his final year at Alabama.
Tight end:
The Cardinals’ current starting tight end, Charles Clay, isn’t the best tight end you want to go out for receptions. The veteran is going into his 10th season and is currently a free agent isn’t the receiving type at this point in his career only, catching 18 passes for 237 yards along with scoring 1 touchdown. If the Cardinals are able to get a receiving type tight end in the draft, it could really expand their options on the offensive side. A prospect to look out for is Thaddeus Moss out of LSU who has great size, but can also catch the ball. At 6’2 Moss was always a mismatch for other teams defenders as he recorded 47 receptions for 570 yards along with 4 touchdowns. Moss came up huge for LSU in the National Championship, catching multiple touchdowns and making several important catches. Moss does have some room for improvement in blocking, but after a year in the NFL, he will have enough improvement to become a starting tight end.
Defensive End:
The Cardinals tied, ranking 17th for the most sacks by a defense without a true powerhouse on their defensive line. Chandler Jones, who played linebacker this year, single-handedly helped the defensive line and carried the defense, recording 19 sacks all by himself. The Cardinals need to get him some help now by adding players on that d-line. The best way to help is by adding a young player from this year’s draft. A prospect to look out for is the defensive end Marlon Davidson out of Auburn, who is coming off a decent season where he was lined up with star defensive tackle Derrick Brown. Davidson came up with plays for Auburn recording 7.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He is a solid player who can hold his own on the d-line. Brown has a high IQ for the game which separated him from other defensive players in the draft. His fundamentals bring a lot to a team and could help the Cardinals who have the most sacks by a defensive end with 3 sacks.
