Cardinals bolster pass rush with Day 2 picks in 2022 NFL Draft

On Friday, the Arizona Cardinals made three selections in the 2022 NFL Draft. Two of them should help improve their pass rush before next season.

For the first time in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals made some actual selections on Friday night.

Entering Day 2 of the draft, the Cardinals had one pick in the second round, and two in the third round. Unlike almost every other team in the league on Friday, Arizona didn’t make any trades and these ended up being the selections they stuck with.

With their second-round pick, the Cardinals went with former Colorado State tight end Trey McBride. Then in the third round, Arizona added a pair of pass rushers in former San Diego State defensive end Cameron Thomas and former Cincinnati edge rusher Myjai Sanders.

Arizona Cardinals land the best tight end in the 2022 NFL Draft

Ranked by both PFF and ESPN as the top tight end in the 2022 draft pool, McBride should be able to make an immediate impact for the Cardinals next season. In 12 games at Colorado State last season, he hauled in 91 catches for 1,125 yards and one touchdown.

It will be interesting to see how Arizona utilizes the two pass rushers they added on Friday in their defense next season.

Thomas was one of the best defensive ends in the nation in 2021 and it had a lot to do with the whopping 77 pressures that he accumulated in 14 games.

Sanders is pretty undersized for an NFL edge rusher (6-foot-3, 228 pounds), so the Cardinals will probably need him to put on a few pounds before they make him a regular in their defense.

He could potentially be utilized as a situational pass rusher next season, but most of his opportunities on the field for Arizona in his rookie campaign will likely come on special teams.

The third and final day of the 2022 draft will begin at 9am GMT on Saturday. Currently, the Cardinals have two selections in the sixth round and three picks in the seventh round.