Arizona Cardinals 7-round mock draft, Big-12 only edition

Round 7

It can’t hurt to add more talent to the defensive line right?

Coming from NFL lineage (brother is Patriots’ Deatrich Wise, father got drafted), Wise is a football player through-and-through. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 281-pounds, Wise has good size but has a declining draft stock due to a subpar combine performance.

However, he’d be excellent value towards the end of the draft. He’s an interior defensive lineman that can eat up blocks with a low pad-level, tenacity, and developed plan of attack. He’s also versatile, as, despite not having the size to do so, played a good amount on the edge at Kansas.

Wise should be available here though. His lack of athleticism and power may scare teams off in earlier rounds, but I think he could make an NFL roster as a selfless block-eater on earlier downs. If the Arizona Cardinals seeing him falling here, they’d be wise (ha, get it?) to make the move to get him.

Depending on how the draft shakes up, tight end Andrew Beck could go as high as the fifth to as low as an undrafted player. Measuring in at 6-foot-3 and 252-pounds and running a composite 4.59 second 40-yard-dash at his pro-day, Beck certainly has the body to be drafted.

But, his game has a long ways to go. He’s not a lengthy guy so take a massive catch radius out of his book, and his running after the catch skills are rather bland. He’s not going to stretch the field vertically either not will he be the top option based off of a limited route tree.

But Beck has some redeemable traits. He’s an excellent run-blocking and is a consistent pass-catcher. He does the little things well, which gives him upside as a TE2 with third-down duties. If anything, Beck’s skill set compares very nicely to recently signed Charles Clay. Nothing special but nothing bad.

Measuring in at 6-foot-3 and 194-pounds with a 4.44 second 40-yard-dash, 39.5-inch vertical, and 131-inch broad jump in the books, you may wonder why I have this Baylor cornerback being the last pick in the draft.

Well, it’s because Derrek Thomas hasn’t actually played the position for very long (wide receiver to cornerback convert) and it shows. He’s rather raw and it shows in his zone coverage abilities, and anticipation, his long-speed is also a concern.

But Thomas is intriguing. Not only does he the size all cornerback coaches covet, but he’s also a freak athlete and performed well at the position last year. Per Pro Football Focus, Thomas allowed just three touchdowns, 28 receptions, and 283 yards in the pass-happy Big 12. He also allowed a below average 82.4 passer rating in coverage, per PFF.

Like most end of the draft picks, Thomas will need to continue to develop his game. He has a lot of upside and sitting behind Patrick Peterson and Robert Alford for a couple of seasons could bring the best out of him.

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