Arizona Cardinals offseason – Page 266

2 undrafted rookies have Cardinals GM Steve Keim’s early attention

In an interview on SiriusXM NFL radio, he speaks about JoJo Ward and Zane Lewis.

The Arizona Cardinals announced 21 rookie free agents joining the team after they went undrafted. They come from a range of schools, large and small. Every year, there are undrafted players who make an impact and ultimately make the final roster.

Last year, one was defensive lineman Miles Brown. Other undrafted rookies to make the team in the past are linebackers Zeke Turner and Dennis Gardeck, receiver Trent Sherfield and more.

Two of the 21 undrafted rookies to watch early on are Hawaii receiver JoJo Ward and Air Force cornerback Zane Lewis.

They were the two rookie free agents Cardinals general manager mentioned in an interview SiriusXM NFL Radio with hosts Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan.

“The Hawaii receiver I watched on tape was explosive and can do some things in the vertical game that excite you,” Keim said. “Even the corner from Air Force excited me with some of the things I saw on tape.”

Receiver might be a difficult room to crack with the number of players they have and are counting on in 2020, but the team did not add any defensive backs outside of those who were with the team last year.

Lewis is a guy to watch as the offseason progresses. If he can make an impact on special teams at least, he might find himself on the final 53-man roster.

“There’s a chance for these guys to roster and contribute,” said Keim.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep.265

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Ep. 264

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Isaiah Simmons chose No. 48 because of history, aesthetics

Aside from Arizona being the 48th state in the union, “I feel I’m going to look good it in, so that’s really the reason.”

The Arizona Cardinals announced over the weekend what uniform numbers their six draft picks will wear this coming season. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons, the team’s first-round pick, has No. 48.

The number makes sense. As a hybrid player who played as a linebacker and defensive back, a number in the 40s can be worn by both position groups.

When Simmons was deciding on his number, it came down to a couple of things, he said when he spoke to reporters on Monday.

“48, something I learned just the more and more I learned about Arizona day by day is it was the 48th state, so there is some significance right there,” he said.

For Arizonans, that is great to hear.

He said there is no personal significance to the number in particular, noting he has “always been a really low number” before. He wore No. 11 at Clemson. He would not have been able to wear that with the Cardinals for a number of reasons. Linebackers can’t wear numbers in the teens and that number belongs to Larry Fitzgerald.

As for No. 48, there is the historical significance, but it ultimately came down to one important thing.

“I feel I’m going to look good it in, so that’s really the reason.”

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Sub scribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep.265

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Ep. 264

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Cardinals 1st-round pick Isaiah Simmons among early Rookie of the Year favorites

Only Chase Young has better odds to win the award.

The Arizona Cardinals drafted what they believe will be an impact defensive player with their first-round pick, Isaiah Simmons. Based on futures odds for the Defensive Rookie of the Year from BetMGM, more than just the Cardinals expect him to be impactful.

Simmons has the second-best odds to win the top rookie defensive award. In the league is No. 2 overall pick Chase Young, drafted by the Washington Redskins. He has +250 odds, which Simmons, who was the fourth defensive player selected, is next at +600 odds.

Young should be the clear favorite because he will likely put up good sack numbers, something that stands out in the eyes of voters.

Simmons isn’t as likely to put up gaudy sack numbers but he could have an impact in a number of ways, depending on how the Cardinals use him. He will be used to blitz and cover. It just not known yet whether he will start or here he would play exactly.

If Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph can use him right, it would absolutely be worth a wager on Simmons to win the award, especially with the payout being six times the initial investment.

Place your legal sports wagers online at BetMGM, or play in their online casino. Bet now!

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Sub scribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep.265

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Ep. 264

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Bios for the Cardinals’ 21 undrafted rookie free agents

Find out more about the 21 rookie free agents the Cardinals added to the roster.

The Arizona Cardinals announced they agreed to terms with 21 rookie free agents who went undrafted over the weekend. The team released bios for each of them in their press release.

Here is what there is to know about each, per the team’s bios.

SMU TE Ryan Becker

SMU tight end Ryan Becker (6-5, 248) played in 46 games (15 starts) during his four-year career with the Mustangs, totaling 198 yards and five touchdowns on 16 receptions. In 2019, he played all 13 games (six starts) for an offense that scored 41.8 points per game and gained 489.8 total yards per game, helping SMU (10-3) to its first 10-win campaign since 1984 and its first 8-0 start since 1982. The Marble Falls, TX native set career highs with nine catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns as a junior in 2018.

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Cardinals begin offseason meetings virtually

Their offseason program began on Monday.

The NFL draft is over and the Arizona Cardinals have selected six players and agreed to deals with 21 rookie free agents. Now is the official beginning of the offseason for the players.

Starting Monday, the Cardinals began the first phase of their offseason program.

All of it is being done virtually for now, as per league guidelines.

“We’ll start our virtual meetings on Monday,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury said on Saturday after the conclusion of the draft. “We won’t have a virtual workout component. Our guys are pros and we’ll have a plan and we’ll have a program in place that they can follow. We will have the Zoom meetings and start installing some football.”

The only thing they will do online is have classroom time. They will not hold workouts online. Instead, they will give them the workout program and expect they follow it.

Kingsbury, like all coaches, wants to get his players on the field to rep things, but he understands that isn’t possible right now.

Until then, they will have to be content with the players studying on their own. Hopefully, things will open up enough for it to be safe to hold training camp and the preseason before the season begins.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Sub scribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep.265

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Ep. 264

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What do Day 2 mock drafts say the Cardinals will do in 3rd round?

Experts were nearly unanimous in having Arizona address their need on the offensive line with their pick at 72.

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Arizona only has one pick as of right now on Day 2 – Pick 72 in Round 3. Here are what a few experts think they will do with that pick:

Lance Zeurlein, NFL.com: Antonio Gibson, RB/WR Memphis

Chris Trapasso, CBSSports.com: Lucas Niang, OT, TCU:

The Cardinals have to address the offensive line for Kyler Murray, and Niang has rare movement skills for someone his size.

Luke Easterling, DraftWire: Lucas Niang, OT, TCU

Matt Miller, Bleacher Report: Ben Bartch, OT, St.John’s

Kevin Hanson, Sports Illustrated: Matt Peart, OT, UConn

The vast majority of the Day 2 mock drafts have Arizona selecting an offensive lineman after they chose Isaiah Simmons in Round 1 it seems.

It makes a lot of sense to have a plan in place for 2021 to protect Kyler Murray on the right side now that the left side is locked up with DJ Humphries.

Niang, the most popular pick, makes a lot of sense after playing right tackle for the Horned Frogs. He’s athletic and falls because of his injury history, but may very well be worth the 72nd overall pick.

The outlier, of course, is Gibson, who would probably fill the backup running back role for Arizona as well as potentially becoming involved as a kick returner.

Day 2 will be a long wait for most Arizona fans, but they may be happy if they land someone who can help out Kyler Murray in the long run.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Sub scribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep.265

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Ep. 264

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Day 2 mock draft simulation for Cardinals

A couple of simulations provided strikingly different results for pick 72 for the Cards.

One of the most fascinating parts of the NFL Draft might be Day 2, as sometimes players have fallen out of the first round, and teams waiting at the top of Round 2 snatch them up.

This year, however, for Cardinals fans the excitement will be mitigated since Arizona will not pick (barring a trade up or down) until pick 72. Cardinals fans can rejoice at pick 40 however, knowing that this bought them the rights to DeAndre Hopkins.

Given the lack of picks this year for the Cardinals, who have only six in the entire draft, a trade up seems unlikely unless a player with a solid Round 1 grade for them falls to the end of Round 2 or top of Round 3.

In the meantime, I ran through Day 2 on the Draft Network’s Mock Draft Machine to see who was available at pick 72 for Arizona – here are the top 10 players according to their board:

S Jeremy Chinn, S Kyle Dugger, S Ashtyn Davis, WR Tee Higgins, IDL Raekwon Davis, IDL Davon Hamilton, EDGE Curtis Weaver, TE Cole Kmet, RB/WR Antonio Gibson, EDGE Julian Okwara

In this simulation, any of these players could fill a potential need for Arizona, although the 3 safeties seem not needed. Getting defensive line help would seem like the best fit here, so that narrowed the pick down to Davis, Hamilton, Weaver, and Okwara.

For those wondering, the highest 2 offensive tackles left were Prince Tega Wanogho and Matthew Peart.

In the end, Weaver was the pick, with Edge being a more premium position, but in reality, any of the last seven on the list would make some sense for Arizona.

I also ran the mock draft simulator over at PFF to see what the 10 players could be left according to their board, and had quite a different, and potentially more exciting outcome for Cardinals fans:

RB DeAndre Swift, RB Jonathan Taylor, G Jonah Jackson, EDGE Terrell Lewis, RB JK Dobbins, TE Cole Kmet, CB Troy Pride, S Terrell Burgess, EDGE Darrell Taylor, IDL Davon Hamilton

It would be surprising to see Arizona pass on a running back if this is the way the board fell, although they could potentially trade back in this scenario, given that it’s highly unlikely that Swift, Taylor and Dobbins all fall to pick 72.

The pick here might be one of them, although Hamilton, Lewis and Taylor would all make sense to fortify the defensive line. In the end, the pick was Swift as the top rated running back (no teams wanted to trade up).

What are your thoughts Cardinals fans? Would any of these players make Day 2 a success for Arizona?

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Sub scribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep.265

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Ep. 264

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5 potential 1st-round targets if the Cardinals trade down

If the recent rumors are true, and Arizona trades back further into Round 1, who are some players they could be interested in selecting?

Rumors abound during this time of year for the NFL draft. The latest one involving the Cardinals is that they are a “trade-back” candidate, even with specific reports recently reporting that Denver is eyeing a trade up with the Cards.

One can never be sure at this time of year, given all the false rumors out there. But what if Arizona does trade back? Who could they target at a pick such as numbers 15 or 16 as an example?

Here are five players that could interest them, including a couple of surprising names:

Oklahoma LB Kenneth Murray

One ex-Oklahoma Sooner that has not really been talked about as a fit for Arizona would be the versatile Murray, who Arizona has met with in private.

At 6-2 and 234 pounds, he’s a bit on the smaller side for an ideal Vance Joseph linebacker, but, much like Arizona did with DJ Humphries, he can site for a year and learn with De’Vondre Campbell penciled in as a starter.

Plus, wouldn’t it make for a great story – 2 “K-Murrays” for the Cards? He’s no CeeDee Lamb, but I’m sure Kyler would be glad to see him.

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10 potential targets for the Cardinals in the 4th round of the draft

Arizona has two selections in Round 4 – here are 10 players they could look to take with those two selections.

The Arizona Cardinals currently don’t have too many selections in this year’s draft, but they have two picks in the fourth round — picks Nos. 114 and 131 overall.

Here are a few players they could look to select with one of those two selections:

Syracuse EDGE Kendell Coleman

The Cardinals just met with Coleman, who would make a lot of sense in the middle rounds as a rotational edge rusher. He finished with 10 sacks as a junior in 2018.

Edge players are hard to find, and always needed so Coleman may not be around in Round 4, but if he is, Arizona may be a good spot for him.

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10 potential targets for Cardinals in the 3rd round of the draft

The Cardinals have one selection on Day 2 as of right now – pick 72 in Round 3. Here are ten players they could look to select.

The NFL Draft is finally upon us this week. While there has been a lot of talk about what Arizona could do at pick 8, how about at pick 72?

This player could also play a big role in this upcoming season, even if they aren’t a full-time starter.

Here are 10 players that could make sense for the Cardinals.

Zack Moss, RB, Utah

Arizona has shown quite a bit of interest in Moss, having a FaceTime visit with him and spent time with him at the combine. He makes some sense in Round 3. He’s not a back that fits every system, but would make for a good one-two punch with Kenyan Drake.

Moss would bring a bigger body to the backfield room, but not only that, he would bring a surprising amount of elusiveness and ability to cause miss tackles. Those traits are what led him to be PFF’s number one ranked running back.

Utah's Zack Moss forced a missed tackle on 38% of rushes in 2019.

Most among any RB with 150+ carries in a season since 2014. pic.twitter.com/t5wPoxPQPF

— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) April 13, 2020

Moss finished 2019 with 1,416 yards for the Utes to go along with 28 catches out of the backfield and 17 total TDs.

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