It appears that the first wave of free agency is coming to a close. Teams have made their initial moves and have doled out the biggest contracts they will give. How does it affect the NFL draft next month?
Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield has a new mock draft of the first round with the moves in free agency considered. Teams have filled some needs so their priorities in the draft might have changed.
For the Arizona Cardinals, the pick is a familiar name found in many previous mock drafts.
In these projections, they select South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn with the 16th overall pick.
This is another pairing that I keep coming back to with each mock draft. With J.J. Watt now on the roster and Markus Golden returning to the fold the Arizona Cardinals are bolstering their defensive front. They do have playmakers in the back end with Budda Baker and Isaiah Simmons, who the team will hope takes a big step forward in year two.
But cornerback is a need, with Patrick Peterson now on his way to Minnesota to join the Vikings. Horn is a strong and long corner with some press coverage traits who began his college career playing inside before shifting to the boundary. Before his decision to opt out after playing in six games this season, Horn flashed ball skills that you want to see in a cornerback. Plus, he has experience both inside as well as on the boundary, giving defensive coordinator Vance Joseph the ability to play matchups in the secondary as he sees fit.
Seeing that the Cardinals have yet to do anything at cornerback other than release and re-sign Robert Alford, who has not played a single down of football the last two years because of injuries suffered in training camp, they almost have to take a cornerback with their first pick in the draft.
Anything other than that would be irresponsible, right?
The Cardinals will definitely do something at cornerback before the draft. They are not a team that likes to corner themselves into having to draft a particular player or position.
But based on what we know right now, there is no other pick that makes sense.
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