Tag: mock draft

Cardinals expected to stand firm and select Marvin Harrison Jr. 4th overall

The Cardinals have received numerous serious inquiries from teams looking to move up in the draft, but they will almost certainly pick

The Arizona Cardinals have been subject to rampant draft rumors the last few weeks leading up to Thursday’s 2024 NFL draft. At first, they were certain to stick and pick the best player with the 4th overall selection — which was a miracle (or was it) granted by Matt Prater in the team’s finale against the Seattle Seahawks.

Then, reports circled about them being a lock to move down with the Minnesota Vikings. When those rumors dwindled, talks about trades with the New York Giants and even the Chicago Bears became popular.

Despite all of the speculation, the Cardinals held firm on the fourth overall selection. The rumor mill even ran into Monday, where reports came out how the Cardinals won’t move down until they are on the clock, heightening the pre-draft excitement and nerves of all Cardinals fans.

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General manager Monti Ossenfort has undoubedtly done his due diligence into what his highly-coveted 4th overall pick could return, but there has always been a player atop their draft boards, one they’ve had keen eyes on for two years now.

Barring a late offer the team cannot refuse, the Arizona Cardinals likely will select Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick.

Harrison Jr. is the best wide receiver prospect in years and many believe him to be the top player in the last two draft classes. He’s a near-perfect prospect for his abilities, but also his off-the-field character and maturity, traits Ossenfort highly covets.

Last season, the Cardinals were motivated to move down, as Ossenfort knew he was staring a multi-year rebuild in the face and needed as many picks as possible to expedite the process. He also had two top prospects — those being Paris Johnson Jr. and Will Anderson, who he thought highly of.

This year, however, Ossenfort will not budge from the rights to draft Harrison Jr. unless the offer is akin to what the San Francisco 49ers once mortgaged to select Trey Lance back in 2021. Teams aren’t overly jumping at the thought to give up that haul for the consensus fourth-best quarterback prospect in the draft.

The Cardinals have actively scouted and had heavy interest in Harrison Jr. for two years now. The dominos leading to their incoming selection of Harrison began with the release of All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins a year and a half ago. Even current-Cardinal Paris Johnson Jr. has spoken to reporters about his conversations about Harrison to the desert dating back to 2022.

The Cardinals also were not aggressive in their negotiations with Hollywood Brown and traded Rondale Moore to the Falcons. They’ve been preparing to build the roster with Harrison headlining their receiving corps since January.

Could Ossenfort look to move down and right back up for Harrison this year? Some have speculated he could look to replicate this move from last year, and while that is certainly possible, the team is certainly not going to do anything without knowing they can still get their guy.

While most of the draft speculation has been surrounding the fourth overall pick, the Cardinals also have No. 27 from the Houston Texans. They may look to move up from that spot for one of the top three edge rushers, should one fall into striking distance. Those three are Alabama’s Dallas Turner, Florida’s Jared Verse and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu.

It makes sense, given the Cardinals have the most draft capital this year and have a glaring hole at edge rusher. Should they walk away with the top receiver prospect and one of the best three edge rushers, the Cardinals will be in much better shape to make a playoff push in 2024.

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

Graham Barton goes inside top 20 in The Ringer’s latest mock draft

The Ringer’s Benjamin Solak released an updated mock draft on Monday morning, and he had Duke lineman Graham Barton within the first 20 names off the board.

The Ringer’s Benjamin Solak, a popular podcast host and analyst, released an updated mock draft on Monday morning to start NFL draft week.

In this edition of his projections, Solak selected former Duke offensive tackle Graham Barton as the 20th overall pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Barton, who played both left tackle and center in Durham, routinely draws praise for his ability to play multiple positions. Sure enough, that flexibility was Solak’s major selling point for Steelers fans.

“The Steelers need a tackle, and they need a center, ” Solak wrote. “Why not take a college tackle who might be an NFL center?”

Solak wrote that the former Blue Devil contains both a high floor and a high ceiling as a prospect due to his fundamentals and athleticism.

The Steelers are one of the earliest possible contenders for Barton’s services, at least according to the current draft order. He’s frequently been connected to the Miami Dolphins (21st overall) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (26th overall).

Graham Barton teams with Joe Burrow in latest Draft Wire mock draft

If Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon were in charge of all 32 teams, he’d have Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton protecting star quarterback Joe Burrow in Cincinnati.

Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon did his NFL mock draft over the weekend a little bit differently.

Instead of predicting what each general manager would do with their pick, Risdon showed what he would do in their spot. It led to some crazy hypotheticals, like the Bears taking LSU quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels with the first pick.

For Duke fans, however, the most interesting result was offensive lineman Graham Barton headed to Cincinnati with the 18th pick.

Star quarterback Joe Burrow, another LSU quarterback with a Heisman Trophy on his shelf, led the Bengals to back-to-back AFC Championship games, but he’s also suffered two season-ending injuries in four seasons. With a prospect like Barton, who played both tackle and center in Durham, the Bengals could solve whatever problem they want.

“I think his best NFL spot will be guard,” Risdon wrote. “The perennially OL-needy Bengals would have a happy problem sorting out Barton’s addition.”

The Bengals, by all reports, would be an unlikely suitor for Barton. Few mock drafts have had the Duke lineman end up in Ohio, more commonly pairing him with Miami or Tampa Bay. If the Cincinnati front office makes amends with star wideout Tee Higgins, however, you never know.

Graham Barton headed to AFC contender in Touchdown Wire’s latest mock draft

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon teamed up for a mock draft on Monday morning, but which playoff team took Graham Barton?

With the NFL draft just days away, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon teamed up for a one-round mock draft on Monday morning.

In their projection, the duo had Graham Barton go to the Miami Dolphins with the 21st pick.

“Barton is the best center in the draft even though he played left tackle pretty darn well at Duke, but I think his best NFL fit might be at left guard,” Risdon wrote. “You’re welcome, Tua.”

Miami emerged as a popular prediction for Barton after the Dolphins lost two interior starters during free agency. USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis forecasted that Barton would go in the same spot on his Monday morning mock.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa could certainly use the extra assistance as he’s battled issues with injuries and concussions since entering the league.

The NFL draft kicks off with the opening round on Thursday night.

Graham Barton ends up in familiar spot in latest USA TODAY Sports mock draft

In Nate Davis’s latest NFL mock draft for USA TODAY Sports, Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton ended up on an AFC playoff team he’s frequently linked to.

USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis released an updated NFL mock draft on Monday morning, and he forecasted Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton would end up in his most likely landing spot.

Davis had Barton go 21st overall to the Miami Dolphins, an AFC wild-card team during the 2023 season.

At 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds with shorter arms, Barton seems better suited for the interior in the NFL. However, since he started both at left tackle and center in Durham, his versatility is frequently praised by scouts.

Davis, however, just thinks Miami needs all the help it can get on the inside. The Dolphins lost starting guard Robert Hunt to the Panthers and center Connor Williams remains a free agent and seems unlikely to return.

Barton was the fifth of 10 offensive linemen drafted in Davis’s first 32 selections. He was one of three guard prospects to go in the first round alongside Washington’s Troy Fautanu (No. 18 to the Cincinnati Bengals) and Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson (No. 24 to the Dallas Cowboys).

NFL mock draft: Here’s what a trade out of Round 1 could look like for Rams

It wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Rams traded out of the first round entirely. This mock draft shows what a move to No. 33 could look like.

The last time the Los Angeles Rams went into the draft with a first-round pick was 2019. As we all know, they didn’t actually make a selection in Round 1 that year, instead trading back multiple times before selecting Taylor Rapp at No. 61 overall.

The Rams are slotted higher in the draft order this year (No. 19) than they were in 2019 (No. 31), so it’ll be tougher for them to trade all the way out of Round 1, but it’s certainly not out of the equation knowing Les Snead’s penchant for stockpiling picks.

In Doug Farrar’s latest mock draft at Touchdown Wire, he gives an example of what a trade out of the first round could look like. The Rams strike a deal with the Panthers, sending No. 19 overall and a 2025 third-rounder to Carolina for No. 33, 65 and a 2025 third-rounder.

The trade up to land the premier pass rusher on the board was not a hard decision for the Panthers, who have to replace Brian Branch and build up a new defense. For the Rams, exiting the first round is tough, but their ability to hit on middle-round picks is enough insurance. Had the Rams stayed, the pick would have been Darius Robinson, who wound up being available for them at No. 33 anyway.

Fans probably wouldn’t be thrilled about the Rams exiting Round 1 yet again, but the 33rd pick is as close to a first-rounder as it gets – and they would add the first pick in Round 3, too. That would give the Rams four top-100 picks, which is enough to address many of their biggest needs.

They can still add a first-round talent at No. 33, whether it’s an edge rusher, wide receiver or defensive lineman, and the extra third-rounder would give the Rams more ammo in the first 100 picks.

Cardinals get WR, CB in new mock draft, but not the ones you think

In a collaboration between Draft Wire and Touchdown Wire, the Cardinals have a pair of surprise picks in the first round.

It is the final week before the 2024 NFL draft, which begins Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET or 5 p.m. Arizona time. As such, we will see some final mock drafts and the latest we have is a collaboration between Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon and Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.

In this new first-round mock draft, the Arizona Cardinals land a wide receiver and a cornerback, but neither is who you would expect.

With the fourth pick, it isn’t Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. That is because Harrison goes third to the New England Patriots. Instead, the Cardinals get LSU receiver Malik Nabers, who in any other draft with be WR1. He is fast, dynamic and terrorizes defenses after the catch.

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He wouldn’t be a bad pick at all.

With the 27th pick, it isn’t Kool-Aid McKinstry or Nate Wiggins. It is Michigan’s Mike Sainristil. Sainristil is a slot corner at 5-9 who is a wolverine in two senses — he played for Michigan and he plays like one.

Based on most mock drafts, this is probably a little high to draft Sainristil, but he would be a good fit, provided the Cardinals think that last year’s third-round pick, Garrett Williams, who played in the slot as a rookie, can handle the boundary.

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

 

Graham Barton nearly slips out of first round in latest CBS Sports mock draft

Graham Barton has been a consensus first-round pick for most of the draft cycle, but he had to wait a while in the latest CBS Sports mock draft.

Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton seems like an assured first-round pick with less than a week before the NFL draft, but in the latest mock draft from CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan on Saturday, he nearly fell into round two.

Sullivan had Barton go 30th overall to the Baltimore Ravens with the idea of protecting two-time MVP Lamar Jackson. The former Blue Devil played both tackle and center in college, and Sullivan thinks his adaptability is perfect for a Ravens team looking for help in multiple spots.

Barton, usually considered the top interior prospect, went after Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson. The Ducks star went 24th overall to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Duke guard was the eighth of nine offensive linemen in Sullivan’s 32-pick mock draft.

Could the Bucs pull a surprise in the 1st round?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could opt for value over need in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft

At this point, most 2024 NFL mock drafts are sending the same couple of names to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the No. 26 overall pick.

It’s usually Penn State edge defender Chop Robinson, and every now and then, you might get an offensive lineman or a cornerback.

But the latest projection from Jeff Risdon at Draft Wire has plenty of surprise picks, including the Bucs taking LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round.

Here’s what Risdon had to say about the pick:

Thomas adds another explosive element for Baker Mayfield to find. Really like how Thomas’ ability to break a short completion into a long gain would impact the Bucs offense.

The Bucs already have one of the league’s best receiver tandems in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and Trey Palmer showed big-play potential as a rookie last season. That said, this year’s loaded receiver class could put Tampa Bay in a position where that position gives them easily the best value on the board, rather than reaching for a more glaring need elsewhere.

Thomas brings a rare blend of size and speed to the table, and would give the Bucs another dynamic playmaker in the passing game. Evans is north of 30 years old now, and Chris Godwin is 29 while heading into the final year of his current contract.

While it might seem like a surprise on the surface, the Bucs spending their top pick on a high-upside pass-catcher wouldn’t be a huge shock.

To check our Risdon’s full first-round projection at Draft Wire, click here.

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POLL: Grade this 7-round Cardinals mock draft simulation

We have one final seven-round Cardinals mock draft. Grade the picks.

In the final weekend before the 2024 NFL draft, we had one final seven-round simulation for the Arizona Cardinals. While we were open to trades, none happened and they had some promising players fall to them late in the first round and in the second round.

This is what the mock draft turned out for the Cardinals:

PFF gives the mock draft an A (up from several A-minus grades in the previous weeks).

What grade do you give it?

Vote in the poll.

See the results here.

The 2024 NFL draft begins Thursday, April, 25 at 8 p.m. ET.

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