Top 5 defensive players the Arizona Cardinals must keep their eye on at the NFL Combine
By Sion Fawkes
The 2023 NFL Combine is upon us, and the Arizona Cardinals will be busy scouting prospects on both sides of the football.
The Arizona Cardinals have a lot of talent on defense, but they also need some serious help on that side of the ball. If they decide to remain with the third overall pick, conventional wisdom states they will either go with defensive tackle Jalen Carter or edge linebacker Will Anderson Jr.
But if they trade down, then what? So if Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort sees a potential trade deal that he likes, don’t be surprised if he accumulates a few more draft picks and slides out of the number three spot.
Therefore, he will be watching numerous players at the NFL Combine. Since Carter and Anderson Jr. are shoo-ins to be watched, I’m not including them on this list. Instead, we’re going to discuss a few other prospects they need to keep an eye on.
5 defensive players Arizona Cardinals must watch at NFL Combine
Christian Gonzalez, CB/Oregon
At 6’2, 200lb, one look at Christian Gonzalez should be all you need for him to remind you of former Arizona Cardinals corner, Patrick Peterson. And he also has the skills to be the next great lockdown corner in the desert, having logged 4 interceptions and 118 return yards during his lone season at Oregon, plus 17 career pass deflections.
Best yet, the Cardinals may not need to insert the corner into a full-time role right away if they can hang onto Byron Murphy Jr and later drafted Gonzalez. This would allow the rookie to ease into the lineup.
Keion White, Edge/Georgia Tech
If the Arizona Cardinals traded into the middle of the first round, Keion White may be a solid pickup. While you may scoff at his 11.5 career sacks across five seasons at Old Dominion and Georgia Tech, White broke out in his final season, taking the quarterback down 7.5 times and adding 14.0 tackles behind the line.
White can also play a variety of roles in the front seven, giving him more versatility than some draft prospects at edge. Overall, he may not carry the same type of production as Will Anderson Jr., but he will steadily evolve into a solid puzzle piece.