It took a little bit of time, but the Arizona Cardinals became very busy quickly as the free agency frenzy progressed. It started off by four consecutive defenisve signings that include CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, DTs Bilal Nichols and Justin Jones, and LB Mack Wilson. Then Monti Ossenfort brought in DeeJay Dallas who can help out on special teams, and then eventually signing offensive tackle Jonah Williams right after the release of D.J. Humphries.
With the signing of Williams, the Cardinals take care of the tackles on the outside of the offensive line and may need to just focus in on the interior part. This past Thursday, the Cardinals would then trade for former Falcons' quarterback Desmond Ridder and would send wideout Rondale Moore to Atlanta. Trading away Moore now leaves the obvious path for the Cardinals going into the first round of the NFL draft, go get a wide receiver.
These moves that Ossenfort has done up to this points should give Cardinals fans a better understanding as to what Arizona will do throughout the next few weeks and months within free agency. It should also be answering questions as to what the Cardinals could do during the draft.
Using the draft simulator at Pro Football Network, we performed a 3-round mock draft for the Cardinals now that they have brought in veteran help through free agency at key positions.
Here is a 3-round mock draft from Raising Zona based on what the Cardinals have done in free agency.
#4: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR - Ohio State
Monti Ossenfort has already addressed the offensive line with the signing of Jonah Williams, and has brought in more defensive help than anything at this point. In addition, the Cardinals traded away wideout Rondale Moore to the Atlanta Falcons which puts the Cardinals at a no-brainer for now selecting a wide receiver with No. 4. If Marvin Harrison Jr. falls to the 4th pick, Ossenfort should not waste any time to call in the pick and bring Harrison to the desert to pair with Kyler Murray.
#27: Graham Barton, OL - Duke
You can never have too many offensive linemen on your team and with Jonah Williams set to only be in Arizona for two years, the Cardinals could very well take Graham Barton and help him develop in the next year. For the majority of his career at Duke, Barton played left tackle but will be able to provide versatility upfront. Arizona still needs to address the interior part of the offensive line.
Barton's name has been slowly climbing up the draft board and there is a chance that he may be selected before this pick. However, if Barton falls down to the Cardinals' second first-round pick, this would be great value to have for Arizona for the next four years with an option of a fifth-year.
#35: Kamren Kinchens, S - Miami
With Budda Baker heading into his final year of his contract with the Cardinals, Arizona may want to look at his successor and if Miami safety Kamren Kinchens falls out of the first round into No. 35, Monti Ossenfort should strongly consider drafting the young safety. He is a tough playmaker who can be a great asset in helping the run defense. In his last two seasons, he has 11 takeaways and if he is able to learn from Baker in the backend of the defense, this would be a solid pickup for Jonathan Gannon.
#66: Kris Jenkins, DT - Michigan
Saving his best production for the college playoffs last season, Jenkins showed that he has a motor that won’t stop until the end of the play. Despite being a smaller defensive tackle, Jenkins has power in which he can take on multiple blocks during a play. With the Cardinals signing Bilal Nichols and Justin Jones as potential immediate starters, Arizona would be able to utilize Jenkins in a rotation to develop his game.
#71: Braelon Allen, RB - Wisconsin
Outside of James Conner, the Cardinals do not have a run attack and will need to find a way to address this need. This is not the best running back draft but Braelon Allen out of Wisconsin might just do the trick behind Conner and into the future. In his first two seasons with the Badgers, Allen rushed for 1,200+ yards in both seasons and came up 14 yards short of 1,000 yards this past season. In 3 seasons, he has 35 rushing touchdowns. In order to allow Kyler Murray to have success in the pass, the Cardinals need to build up a run game and having a combo of Conner and Allen this year will be greater than what most might think.
#90: Josh Newton, CB - TCU
With a pressing need at cornerback, Josh Newton out of TCU could be a future starter in the desert. He had a steller 2022 season with 3 interceptions (one pick-six) and 35 total tackles. He would be a good addition to this Arizona secondary that was near the middle of the pack last year against the pass, plus teaming up with newly acquired Sean Murphy-Bunting would help grow his game.