The Arizona Cardinals currently have the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Many believe they will look to trade back to try and get more picks, as they do not have selections in the third or fourth rounds.
However, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager suggests a scenario in which the Cardinals could make a big move up into the top 10 of the draft.
Unlike other teams seeking to move up to select a quarterback, the Cardinals would be targeting someone NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah says could be considered the best player in the draft.
In Schrager’s mock draft, the Cardinals trade up to the seventh overall pick, currently held by the Detroit Lions, and select big-time tight end Kyle Pitts.
Pitts isn’t falling out of the top eight. Too many teams are intoxicated by him. I’ve got the Cardinals as aggressors — as they’ve been all offseason — with Steve Keim bringing in yet another weapon for Kyler Murray. Arizona gives up this year’s first-rounder, next year’s first and next year’s third to move up from No. 16.
Pitts could be a game-changer for the Cardinals offense, who already have a receiving trio of DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green and Christian Kirk.
Pitts was great in 2020, catching 43 passes for 770 yards in eight games and scoring 12 touchdowns.
If Florida had played a normal 12-game season and he produced at the same pace, hw would have had 65 receptions for 1,155 yards and 18 touchdowns. That is fantastic.
The Cardinals certainly like him. If there were a player they would trade up to acquire, it would be him. The question is at what point are the willing to pull the trigger. Is it the eighth pick, the seventh pick or would they jump all the way up to No. 4 to be sure to get him?
If another trades up to land a quarterback and Pitts falls a little, maybe we will see the Cardinals make an aggressive move.
For a team in their position, it might be the right move to make.
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