Two Under the Radar Names to Watch for Cardinals in First Round
The Arizona Cardinals have plenty of smoke around what they'll do with the No. 3 pick.
However the cookie crumbles, they're sure to pick somebody - whether they stay in their original position or move elsewhere.
We've seen a handful of names such as Will Anderson Jr., Tyree Wilson or Christian Gonzalez mentioned with the team. The good news for Arizona? They need help nearly everywhere, so whoever lands in the desert should be able to help in some capacity.
After saying the Cardinals may have a difficult time moving the No. 3 pick, Sports Illusrated's Albert Breer mentioned two curveball names that could be targeted outside of the normal players tied to Arizona:
"It’s well-established that new GM Monti Ossenfort is looking to move down from No. 3, to accumulate more capital and build up a roster with needs everywhere," said Breer in his latest mailbag.
"But it seems like it won’t be easy to move the pick. One thing that would help is Stroud getting past Houston—opening up an opportunity for someone to leapfrog the Colts to have their pick of any of the non–Young quarterbacks in the class. But if the Cardinals get stuck? One thing that comes up consistently is that Ossenfort is going to want to park the ball in the middle of the fairway with his first pick, be it at No. 3 or further down.
"Anderson is the name that most commonly comes up, but I also know Arizona passed Wilson on his physical, which would make him a possibility too. And if there’s a curveball coming, I’ve heard the Cards love [Devon] Witherspoon at corner and [Paris] Johnson at tackle. Both would be considerations—maybe at No. 3, maybe after a trade down."
Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon is believed to be one of the top two corners in this draft, and could help fill the void left by Byron Murphy in free agency while Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr. could trigger the youth movement along the offensive line in Arizona.
ESPN's Matt Miller compared Witherspoon to Darius Slay:
"An aggressive and physical cornerback, Witherspoon is sticky in coverage and uses his size (6-foot, 181 pounds) and quickness to stay in-phase and eliminate targets. He had three interceptions and 14 pass breakups this past season. And while run defense doesn't get talked about much with corner prospects, Witherspoon's open-field tackling ability is the best in the class at the position."
Our own Richie Bradshaw labeled Johnson Jr. as one of the top offensive prospects Arizona should add:
"The final offensive tackle talked about as OT1, Johnson actually has experience throughout the offensive line including at both tackle spots and inside at guard. Versatility is king for offensive linemen translating to the pros and his success wherever he was lined up will have many valuing him high."
There's certainly a wild realm of possibilities for the Cardinals.
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