Arizona Cardinals 7 round mock draft, SEC only edition

The Arizona Cardinals have a need at wide receiver, specifically one that can fit Kliff Kingsbury’s mold of yards after the catch type of guy. Luckily, former South Carolina Gamecock Deebo Samuel can fill that void and will likely be there at No. 33 overall.

Although he dealt with a less-than-ideal quarterback situation, Samuel finished his senior year with 62 catches for 882 yards and 11 touchdowns. Even more impressive; 592 of those yards were after the catch, per Pro Football Focus. 

Standing in at 5-foot-11 and 214-pounds, Samuel is a tough player to tackle. Combine that size with a never give up attitude, quickness, and a boatload of open-field moves and he should make any QB look good at the next level. He’s not overly fast (4.48 second 40-yard-dash), but he’s so quick that he will be a problem for even the best-tackling safeties and corners.

But Samuel is more complete than you think. His route running is polished and shows excellent comeback skills to the ball. His breaks are clean and he knows how to beat soft zone coverage; the only issue I see in this department is his lack of physicality in man coverage. When he breaks out of his route, Samuel shows the ability to catch outside of his frame and secures the catch a consistent basis, despite being thrown some terrible passes.

Samuel sounds great, but he should be available at the top of the second. I’ve called for his need to get more physical in press coverage, and his size may mean teams regulate him to the slot. But despite those complaints, I think Samuel would thrive in the Cardinals offense.