If Cardinals deal down from 3rd overall NFL draft pick, keep your eyes on these cornerbacks

INDIANAPOLIS – The Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals presently own the first and third overall picks in next month’s NFL draft, respectively, and both teams have publicly stated this week during the scouting combine that they’re willing to trade down for the right price.

It might mean only dropping a couple spots. It could also mean sliding down anywhere from four to 10 spots as well.

If it happens, that means either the Bears or the Cardinals would likely be out of the sweepstakes to select at least one of the top-three defensive stalwarts next month in this year’s draft class – Will Anderson Jr. from Alabama, Tyree Wilson from Texas Tech or Jalen Carter from Georgia.

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Arizona potentially could have a fantastic Plan B up its sleeve if it were the one to deal down a significant series of slots to acquire more draft capital. That’s because for as much as the Cardinals could use an impact edge rusher after losing Chandler Jones and J.J. Watt in consecutive seasons, they also desperately need help at the cornerback position and some very talented prospects should be available if they don’t move too far down in the first round.

Those that could be there for the taking might include each of the consensus top-four rated cornerbacks – Devon Witherspoon from Illinois, Joey Porter Jr. from Penn State, Christian Gonzalez from Oregon and Cam Smith from South Carolina.

“That’s certainly another position where we need to add some players,” Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said earlier this week from the combine. “Byron (Murphy Jr.) is a free agent, so we have to go through that situation. Marco (Wilson) is under contract, and we have a couple other players that are under contract as well. It’s similar to other positions on our team where there are pieces in place, some guys that have played good ball last year.

“Christian Matthew (a rookie this past season) got some snaps as well. There are areas where we have some guys to build upon and build around and there are areas where we’re going to have to add some players at that position as well.”

One way is through free agency, which starts in just a little more than a week. There will be candidates there, for sure, including some potential veterans such as James Bradberry, who played under new Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, the former defensive coordinator for the Eagles. The price might be too steep, however, just as it certainly would be to acquire star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, the six-time Pro Bowl selection whom the Rams are trying to peddle in a trade.

One interesting note to come out of the combine was that Gannon said he doesn’t feel the need to surround himself with players he’s previously coached.

“Sometimes that helps with guys who are familiar with what you want to do,” he said, “but honestly, the defense and the schemes and how we play is going to be built around our guys. There will be a little bit of carryover, but it’s not a copy-and-paste job of, ‘Hey, this is the 2022 Eagles’ playbook. This is what we’re doing.’

“It will not be that. We’ll tailor-fit what we’re doing around our guys.”

Whether the Cardinals are able or willing to re-sign Murphy or not, they’ll be in the market for at least a few cornerbacks and especially one they can count upon being a shutdown star. Their options there, should they trade the No. 3 overall pick to one of the NFL’s multiple quarterback-needy clubs and move down, should be intriguing.

Read more:Cardinals could be getting a 'force' in former Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson

Witherspoon, for one, might be Arizona’s best option if he’s available.

“I mean, I wish he was 200 pounds. He is not going to be,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said of the 6-foot, 180-pound Witherspoon. “He is going to be a little bit lighter, but he just pulls the trigger. He does not play with any hesitation. He plays with ultimate aggressiveness and confidence and urgency.

“Then you see that and say, ‘OK, well, let's see what happens when they hit him with double moves’ because sometimes you can take advantage of guys that are making plays on the ball. He doesn't fall for it. He is really, really instinctive that way. He is outstanding in zone (coverage).”

Like Witherspoon, who had 14 pass breakups and three interceptions in 2022, Porter, Gonzalez and Smith prefer to be used in press-man coverage, shadowing receivers from the line of scrimmage and sticking to them like glue. They’re more than willing to play off the receiver but feel they can be more helpful to a team by attacking the pass catcher and using their speed and physicality to prevent completions and make plays on the football.

Asked what type of player an NFL team will be getting by drafting him, Porter smiled and said, “You’re going to get a competitor that likes to compete at anything he does. I kind of get down like my dad on the field like my mom off the field. I’ll say that’s a good mix.”

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Porter’s dad, former NFL linebacker Joey Porter, played the final two seasons of his 13-year career with the Cardinals in 2010-2011. The younger Porter, who is 6-2 and 194 pounds, said he has formally met with the Cardinals this week at the combine and has good memories from his brief time living in Arizona.

“He told me it was a great organization,” Porter Jr. said of his father. “I just remember going there when I was young, and the pools were like hot tubs. That’s what I fell in love with down there. So yeah, it was pretty cool.”

The 6-2, 201-pound Gonzalez has some ties to the Cardinals as well. His sister Melissa, a track star who has competed in the Olympics for Columbia, is married to David Blough, who started the last two games of the 2022 season for the Cardinals at quarterback.

“David, that’s my guy,” Gonzalez, who began his college career at Colorado, said Thursday. “I talk to him all the time. He’s telling me great things. He’s telling me to go in there and be yourself and the right things are going to come. … He’s somebody that I talked to growing up all the time. He was always around the house. I remember playing with him when I was like 10 years old, just running around and throwing the ball.

“It’s all come full circle and it’s been great to have him in my corner.”

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The 6-foot, 188-pound Smith could be a middle to late first-round pick and might also be available early in the second round, where the Cardinals have the 34^th selection overall. Smith said he was scheduled to meet with the team Thursday night at the combine.

Wherever he ends up, Smith said the team that drafts him will be getting a perfectionist. He’s made that a significant part of his character after hearing too many negative comments from critics.

“Just people saying I can’t really do a lot of things, so that instilled in me that I’ve got to be the best at everything I do,” he said. “I want to be the best corner, have the best technique, just be a sound corner whether it’s off (coverage), man, press, zone, anything. I just want to be the best.”

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals at the combine: What might happen if Arizona trades No.3 pick