What if the Arizona Cardinals drafted Tyler Lockett?
With the 58th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals select Tyler Lockett.
If you have seen the first episode of Amazon’s All or Nothing series featuring the Cardinals, you must have noticed that Arizona was zoned in on 3 prospects in the second round of the 2015 draft.
Steve Keim and the rest of the draft room were first set on taking Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah, but the Senior Bowl MVP was taken four picks earlier by the Detroit Lions. The Cardinals settled on taking defensive end Markus Golden out of Missouri.
The third prospect Arizona was considering taking was wide receiver Tyler Lockett from Kansas State who ended up going to the Seattle Seahawks in the third round. Lockett had a productive rookie season being named a First-team All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl.
What would have happened if the Cardinals drafted Tyler Lockett instead of Markus Golden?
If the Cardinals did take Lockett in the second round, it would’ve changed how Arizona approached the rest of the rounds. Lockett in the second means no J.J. Nelson in the fifth round (and no 142 yard game against the Cincinnati Bengals ). I still think the Cardinals take David Johnson in the third round because of their desire to take a running back in the second round.
With the first three picks of the draft being offensive players, I expect the Cardinals to have used the next three picks on defensive players. The Rodney Gunter and Shaquille Riddick picks stay the same position wise and the Nelson pick could’ve possibly turned into the selection of a linebacker to make up for the absence of Markus Golden.
Overall, the 2015 Arizona Cardinals wouldn’t look that much different with Lockett on the squad. It’s also difficult to gauge whether he would have had the same success he had in Seattle with the trio of Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown receiving most of the snaps. Lockett’s primary contributions would have been in the return game and his down the field threat.
Luckily passing on Lockett hasn’t seemed to cost Arizona as of now. In 2 games against the Cardinals, Lockett has caught 3 passes for 43 yards along with 243 return yards on 11 returns.