Would Cardinals Pass on Will Anderson? NFL Insider Hints at Possibility
For months, discourse surrounding the Arizona Cardinals and their third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft has centered around the argument of Georgia Bulldogs DL Jalen Carter or Alabama Crimson Tide EDGE Will Anderson.
Rightfully so - either have the potential to anchor a defense for the next decade or so.
However, one NFL insider believes neither might be the pick at No. 3.
In his latest mock draft, Daniel Jeremiah tabbed Texas Tech EDGE Tyree Wilson to the Cardinals. It was a pick that plenty haven't seen before which obviously required some explanation.
"First edge rusher off the board? Over Will Anderson Jr.?!? There’s a lot of love for Wilson around the league. His combination of size, length and production has teams very intrigued," said Jeremiah.
For context, that mock draft included no trades, so Carter was the No. 1 pick for the Chicago Bears who don't necessarily need a quarterback with Justin Fields at the helm.
Wilson is projected to go somewhere in the top ten, but groupthink says he'll land as high as to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 5.
Yet all it takes is one team to fall in love with a prospect to pull the trigger, as we've seen plenty of times before in the draft.
(We did a podcast on this topic which you can view and make fun of us for here)
While Jeremiah didn't openly admit that the Cardinals felt that way, he did explain himself in a conference call with reporters ahead of the NFL Combine:
"Look, to me the way I have them stacked, like, I think Jalen Carter is the best player in the draft from Georgia, and I think that Will Anderson is the second best player," Jeremiah said.
"But I know in talking to people around the league and when I do mock drafts, you're trying to get just a feel and the potential outcomes there and not just doing the same exact thing every single time.
"I know that there's teams that have it really, really close, and some actually even prefer Tyree Wilson to Anderson just because of the size and the length and the attributes that he has there.
"But if you are asking me, I wouldn't be trading off of either of those two guys. When you look at Jalen Carter, Will Anderson, I probably wouldn't want to get out if I were them, as desperate as they are for defensive linemen. I think those are the two best guys.
"So kind of a two-parter there. You know, what would I do? That's what I would do. I would take one of those two guys. Then, you know, I do want to make sure that Tyree Wilson kind of gets in the mix.
"I remember doing a similar thing last year trying to alert everybody that this Travon Walker from Georgia, you know, like, hey, just know who he is and be aware and don't be surprised. That's kind of the same thing I'm doing here, same formula."
To his credit, Jeremiah was one of the first people to highlight Travon Walker when guys like Kayvon Thibodeaux and Aidan Hutchinson dominated talk at No. 1 last year.
Jeremiah dove a bit deeper into Wilson earlier in the call.
"I think there's a lot of buzz around him around the league. I think the league has it with him and Anderson a lot closer than people might think. He's got just freakish wingspan and burst and the ability to kind of use those long levers to get home," Jeremiah said.
"I think he is a really talented rusher. I think he is a big-time athlete. Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to get to see him do anything at the combine coming off the injury that he has had, so probably have to wait until the pro day on that one."
Perhaps this pick will be more interesting than we may have initially thought.
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