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.
Tyree Wilson, Edge/Texas Tech
Suppose the Arizona Cardinals swapped just a few spots with a quarterback-needy team like the Las Vegas Raiders. Chances are, Tyree Wilson would be available. Wilson is a larger, more NFL-ready option than White, and he would immediately produce for the Redbirds.
While his overall sack numbers sit at just 17.0 for his career at Texas A&M and Texas Tech, Wilson’s 32.0 tackles for loss, specifically the 27.0 accumulated between 2021 and 2022, should get any Cardinals fan excited if Ossenfort took him in the top ten.
Bryan Bresee, DT/Clemson
Overall, I’m not a fan of players with marginal collegiate production, but I’ll let it slide for defensive tackles if they can show a tendency to fight their way into the backfield and disrupt plays. And that’s what Bryan Bresee brings.
That said, I still hesitated to put Bresee on this list, as he’s purely a potential pick in the mid-first round who the Arizona Cardinals should only consider if they traded back. But then again, a strong Combine could raise Bresee’s stock, and Ossenfort would be wise to keep tabs on him.
Joey Porter Jr., CB/Penn State
In case you’re wondering, yes, he is the son of former NFL great Joey Porter Sr., who spent two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. But family ties aren’t the reason Ossenfort should be watching. The Penn State product was remarkable during his final season, deflecting 11 passes and showing sheer fearlessness regardless of who he played.
Joey Porter Jr. is the type of corner new defensive coordinator Nick Rallis could literally line up anywhere in the secondary, and even send in on the occasional corner blitz. In short, he would add a much-needed dimension to the Redbirds defense. A defense that already has a solid influx of young talent.
Overall, the five players you see above are those Ossenfort and assistant general manager David Sears should keep a closer watch on while they also actively scout Will Anderson Jr. and Jalen Carter. I also expect Anderson Jr. and Carter to remain at the top of the Cards draft boards, but if they trade down, hopefully today’s article shows that there is plenty of first round talent out there.
(Statistics provided by Sports-Reference)
Source: Bucky Brooks 2023 NFL mock draft 2.0: Raiders snag QB Will Levis; Cowboys, Chiefs add receivers by Bucky Brooks, NFL.com.