Cardinals Projected For Massive Reach in Second Round of Draft

The Arizona Cardinals are hoping to keep the ball rolling heading into Day 2 of NFL draft festivities after drafting Jeremiyah Love in the first round.

After missing out on quarterback Ty Simpson, many believe the Cardinals could be in play for a quarterback in rounds two and three, which is set to begin at 4:00 PM MST.

That could come in the form of Miami quarterback Carson Beck, who the team did host on a Top 30 visit.

However, he could arrive much earlier than anticipated.

ESPN's Matt Miller has the Cardinals taking Beck at no. 34 in the second round, which will be the second pick of festivities today.

"Is this a reach for Beck ? It is, based on predraft rankings of him, but the Cardinals are in quarterback purgatory and need to take swings to find a capable starter," Miller wrote on the pick.

"Beck's excellent play in the College Football Playoff changed the narrative on him, and there are believers around the NFL in his ability as a future starter."

This would perhaps be the biggest reach of the draft.

Beck brings ideal size to the NFL and is somewhat mobile but doesn't quite have the traits needed to truly project as a successful quarterback in the league. That's fine if he's a Day 3 pick and viewed as more of a project, though the 34th overall pick would suggest Arizona believes he's much more than that.

“I think we have different characteristics as it goes for every position/ I think big ones for me (are) accuracy and decision making," Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort told reporters ahead of the draft when evaluating quarterback play.

"Those are always at the forefront. Every year there's different flavors of quarterbacks: different sizes and different styles so it looks different. The college game looks different than the NFL game does. It's up to us to really look at those guys and project how they're going to translate into our league. Every year's different and we certainly did our share of evaluation on the quarterbacks in this year's draft.”

Other options such as LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and Penn State's Drew Allar exist for the Cardinals.

Arizona, after missing on Simpson, won't find another quarterback who can start out of the gates. In that mindset, Beck (although there's a reason he'll be drafted) simply can't be taken this early in the process, especially with other pressing needs across the roster.

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