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Latest Arizona Cardinals mock draft for 1st round after big free agency period

By Aarron Van Buren

Garret Casados (center) of Surprise, Ariz., reacts after the Arizona Cardinals used their number one draft pick to select quarterback Kyler Murray from Oklahoma during the NFL Draft watch party at State Farm Stadium on Apr. 25, 2019 in Glendale, Ariz.2019 Nfl Draft
Garret Casados (center) of Surprise, Ariz., reacts after the Arizona Cardinals used their number one draft pick to select quarterback Kyler Murray from Oklahoma during the NFL Draft watch party at State Farm Stadium on Apr. 25, 2019 in Glendale, Ariz.2019 Nfl Draft /
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Nov 28, 2020; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson running back Travis Etienne (9) runs the ball during the third quarter against Pittsburgh at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2020; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson running back Travis Etienne (9) runs the ball during the third quarter against Pittsburgh at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports /

Travis Etienne at #16 in Latest Arizona Cardinals mock draft

Staying put at the 16th pick creates an interesting situation for the Cardinals. The chances of Farley or Patrick Surtain II falling this far are little to none. Penei Sewell and RaShawn Slater will most likely be gone too. There’s also weirdly a consensus on one NFL draft website that Alijah Vera-Tucker is the player most “mockers” have the Cardinals drafting. This brings us to my first choice for staying put in my Latest Arizona Cardinals mock draft- Travis Etienne.  The Cardinals OL room is getting absolutely packed right now, and another lineman doesn’t make much sense.

This just makes it all the more worth drafting Etienne. I wrote about how this is Etienne’s preferred landing spot and what he’d bring to the table. He excelled in between the tackles and is the ACC’s all-time leading rusher. Mind you this came in the Trevor Lawrence-era Clemson Tigers team. That speaks volumes of how good he can make the quarterback by always being a threat.

The team really only has Chase Edmonds on the roster at this point, and he would take a back seat to Etienne hopefully halfway through the season. It would be a similar progression that Jonathon Taylor had last season. The Colts enjoyed his success, ending up as the third-leading rusher in the league. I would predict Etienne to be the team’s first 1,00 yard rusher since David Johnson in 2016.

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