Arizona Cardinals: NFL Mock Draft
By Cyle Gill
Oh right! Cooper is gonna be back in 2014. WE GOT THIS!!! Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
With the NFL Draft just a month away and free agency slowing down because of it, I put together a first round mock draft for each team by most important need.
Pick 1: The Houston Texans take QB, Blake Bortles. Bortles is the most NFL ready QB in the draft and with the Texans being in the AFC South, they need the QB that`s compared to Andrew Luck.
Pick 2: The St. Louis Rams trade their pick with the Dallas Cowboys and they take DE, Jadeveon Clowney. Needing to replace DeMarcus Ware, Jerry Jones does what he needs to do trying to restore Big D to their past glory.
Pick 3: The Jacksonville Jaguars take QB, Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater fits well with this regime having a strong acumen as a pro-style passer.
Pick 4: The Cleveland Browns take QB, Johnny Manziel. Being that a scrambling QB is all the rage now days, the Browns take their chance on this one.
Pick 5: The Oakland Raiders take CB, Darqueze Dennard. Taking Dennard is their most important priority so he can start alongside D.J. Hayden and having a pair of lock down corners.
Pick 6: The Atlanta Falcons take OT, Greg Robinson. Last season the Falcons offensive line were awful and Robinson is fast, fluid, and has impressive body control for his size.
Pick 7: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers take OT, Jake Matthews. With new Head Coach Lovie Smith coming in, he`ll take the chance with the defense he has, so he goes with the big body on the o-line.
Pick 8: The Minnesota Vikings take DE, Kony Ealy. Being in the NFC North, the Vikings need to replace Jared Allen.
Pick 9: The Buffalo Bills take WR, Sammy Watkins. Stevie Johnson isn`t the Bills number one receiver, but Watkins can be.
Pick 10: The Detroit Lions take FS, HaSean Clinton-Dix. With the signing of Golden Tate, Detroit needs more talent in the secondary.
Pick 11: The Tennessee Titans take OT, Zack Martin. With Ken Whisenhunt`s system, the defensive line should be fine with who they have, so Martin is their best bet.
Pick 12: The New York Giants take OT, Taylor Lewan. Help is needed throughout the whole o-line and Lewan is the best lineman left on the board.
Pick 13: The St. Louis Rams take TE, Eric Ebron. With the Rams needing help on their o-line and needing another receiver, Ebron is a win-win for them.
Pick 14: The Chicago Bears take DT, Aaron Donald. With the defense needing upgrades at a few positions, everything starts up front and Donald is what they need.
Pick 15: The Pittsburgh Steelers take OLB, Khalil Mack. Help is needed on the defensive line and the linebacker position, Mack is the best player left on the board with what they need.
Pick 16: The Baltimore Ravens take WR, Mike Evans. Joe Flacco needs another receiver and Evans is the big body receiver he needs.
Pick 17: Trading down with Dallas, the St. Louis Rams take WR, Marqise Lee. With Chris Givens taking a step back last year and Tavon Austin having troubles catching in space, Lee is the upgrade Sam Bradford needs.
Pick 18: The New York Jets take CB, Justin Gilbert. With the signing of Eric Decker, the Jets need Gilbert to fill Antonio Cromartie shoes.
Pick 19: The Miami Dolphins take DT, Louis Nix. The Phins need their most help in the secondary, but the d-line is also struggling and Nix is their best option.
Pick 20: The Arizona Cardinals take ILB C.J. Mosley. The Cardinals are in win now mode and with the lack of good depth on the inside, plus D-Wash being in trouble, Mosley is a no brainer.
Pick 21: The Green Bay Packers take DT, Timmy Jernigan. B.J. Raji was signed to a one year contract, Johnny Jolly suffered a bulging disk in his neck last season, and Ryan Pickett is 34, a DT is more important then their secondary.
Pick 22: The Philadelphia Eagles take OLB, Anthony Barr. Trent Cole nor Connor Barwin are the difference makers the Eagales need in their 3-4 scheme, but Barr can be.
Pick 23: The Kansas City Chiefs take WR, Kelvin Benjamin. Alex Smith needs another productive receiver to help open up Dwayne Bowe.
Pick 24: The Cincinnati Bengals take OLB, Kyle Van Noy. James Harrison only played against the run last year and the Bengals need a backer who can play the pass and Van Noy is their man.
Pick 25: The San Diego Chargers take DT, RaShede Hagemen. The Chargers need help in their linebacker and secondary positions, but they also have a big hole in their d-line and Hageman will help out all those areas.
Pick 26: The Cleveland Browns take OT, Cyrus Kouandjio. The Browns need help at the cornerback position, but they can`t afford taking the risk of Manziel getting hurt, so they have no choice.
Pick 27: The New Orleans Saints take CB, Jason Verrett. The Saints need help in their secondary and Verrett fits that need.
Pick 28: The Carolina Panthers take WR, Allen Robinson. After releasing Steve Smith, Robinson is the perfect fit to fill Smith`s shoes.
Pick 29: The New England Patriots take TE, Jace Amaro. With Rob Gronkowski being so injury prone, the Pats need another big body at TE.
Pick 30: The San Francisco 49ners take FS, Calvin Pryor. With Donte Whitner leaving for Cleveland, Pryor is the perfect fit in San Fran.
Pick 31: The Denver Broncos take DE, Dee Ford. The Broncos filled all their needs in free agency, they have the luxury of picking the best player on the board.
Pick 32: The Seattle Seahawks take WR, Brandin Cooks. The Seahawks need to replace Golden Tate, plus they might not want to pay Sidney Rice the $9.7 million he`s due to earn.