Arizona Cardinals have options with 13th overall pick
By Jim Koch
With the NFL Draft less than a week away the Arizona Cardinals have yet to indicate who they will select in the first round
The decision won’t be an easy one for the Arizona Cardinals. They currently hold the 13th overall pick in next week’s NFL Draft, their highest selection in four years. There are quite a few directions the front office can go when they’re finally on the clock next Thursday evening.
Will the Cardinals finally obtain their quarterback of the future? Will they attempt to solve the number-two cornerback dilemma? Will it be a safety, inside linebacker or even a wide receiver?
Head coach Bruce Arians has stated that North Carolina signal-caller Mitch Trubisky’s lack of starting experience is bothersome to him. That sounds like it could be a smokescreen. If Trubisky somehow falls to Arizona at #13, the organization may finally have Carson Palmer’s successor.
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With Michael Floyd gone and Larry Fitzgerald retiring, the squad could use a wide receiver with some size. There’s a decent possibility that at least one of two “big” wideouts, both blue-chip prospects, will be available for the Cards in the first round. Western Michigan’s Corey Davis (6’3″, 213) and Clemson’s Mike Williams (6’4″, 220) would both look great in Cardinal red.
If the club wants to fill the number two cornerback position, this is certainly the year to do it. Recent mock drafts have the cream of the crop, Ohio State’s Marshon Lattimore, being gone when Arizona picks. But Lattimore’s teammate Gareon Conley should be there at #13, and Alabama’s Marlon Humphrey could be as well.
There are a pair of excellent safeties who could soften the blow of losing Tony Jefferson and D.J. Swearinger. It seems unlikely that LSU’s Jamal Adams will make it out of the top 10. But if Ohio State’s Malik Hoover was to tumble, Cards’ management would be hard-pressed not to corral him.
It’s true that the Cardinals handed veteran tight end Jermaine Gresham a four-year deal last month. But would that stop the Cardinals’ brass from taking Alabama’s ultra-talented O.J. Howard with the pick? Howard possesses all the traits needed to become an NFL star.
One last name worth mentioning is Reuben Foster. But the inside linebacker out of Alabama has probably lowered his stock, possibly all the way out of the first round. Foster submitted a diluted urine sample during a drug screen, which in NFL circles is the same as testing positive.