For weeks, we have been talking about the Arizona Cardinals most likely keeping the fourth overall pick and rolling with offense. But in today’s exercise that involved the PFF Mock Draft Simulator, we changed that and instead focused on improving the defense with the first two picks.
Of course, this meant trading down to the 12th overall pick, and we also traded out of the 27th pick. It’s a strategy that, should it happen in real life and mirror this mock draft, shouldn’t be too disappointing if you are looking for the Cardinals to draft a future No. 1 receiver in the first.
This is because, even with the first two picks being on the defensive side of the ball, a potential No. 1 was still drafted with the 38th pick. So who ended up going to the desert in this mock, and what did the Cardinals acquire and give up to trade back?
Arizona Cardinals trade down, and select defense in PFF Mock Draft 5.0
Pick 12: Dallas Turner, EDGE/Alabama
In this mock, we found a trading partner in the Denver Broncos. We reunited Zaven Collins with Vance Joseph, while also giving Denver the fourth pick, the 104th overall pick, and a third-rounder for 2025. We got Jerry Jeudy, the 12th pick, plus Denver’s first-rounder in 2025.
While the Broncos rolled with Jayden Daniels, we got Dallas Turner, and he would immediately upgrade what became a lackluster pass rush in the desert. This past season, Turner racked up 10.0 sacks, and he has 22.5 over a three-year career with the Crimson Tide.
He also had 14.5 stops behind the line to go with two forced fumbles, and 53 total tackles. Turner also recorded a pair of fumble recoveries in his career, one of which went for an 11-yard touchdown.