The Arizona Cardinals have the eighth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and already there is plenty of speculation as to what should be the position they focus on.
Some are firmly in the corner of taking a receiver. Others want an offensive lineman. Yet others want to see a defensive player taken.
General manager Steve Keim might have given a bit of a clue as to what direction he might go in April when the Cardinals are on the board.
“One of the things I’ve always thought about philosophically was when you have a position group, and again they grade in a similar area, when you look at the big picture and you say, ok when I get to free agency, which players at that position exist in free agency, because usually people tie up left tackles, corners, quarterbacks — guys that are hard to find,” he said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “So I would obviously lean in the direction of players that are hard to find and don’t really make it to free agency because they get extended.”
What does this mean?
It means if the Cardinals have a wide receiver, an offensive tackle and a defensive lineman or linebacker all graded similarly, the Cardinals will take a tackle.
They key, of course, is how the Cardinals grade players.
Right now, the way mock drafts are lining up, the Cardinals could be in a position to take a tackle like Andrew Thomas, Tristan Wirfs, Mekhi Becton or others. They could take receivers CeeDee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy. They could take a defensive player like linebacker Isaiah Simmons or defensive tackle Derrick Brown.
If a tackle is in the same grade tier as a receiver or defensive tackle, it sounds like they will take a tackle.
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Ep. 257
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Ep. 256
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