Cardinals go defense early, offense late in new mock draft simulation
We begin our weekly mock draft simulations as we approach the 2021 NFL draft. The purpose of them is to play out different scenarios at the top of the draft, whether it is taking a particular position or making a trade to see how it might make the rest of the draft play out for the Cardinals.
In this first mock draft simulation I ran from The Draft Network, the scenario was the Cardinals taking a cornerback, which is a popular pick in many mocks.
Check the five selections for the Cardinals below.
Round 1: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn
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As mentioned, the decision was to go with a cornerback here. Michigan EDGE Kwity Paye, Minnesota receiver Rashod Bateman, Alabama running back Najee Harris and Clemson running back Travis Etienne were all at the top of the board. Horn fills an immediate and long-term need for the Cardinals. He can play man. He is physical and has the mentality needed to play the position at a high level. He should be able to play as one of the team's three corners immediately.
Round 2: Oklahoma OL Creed Humphrey
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Why not add another young center to the team? They have Mason Cole and Lamont Gaillard. Kyler Murray is a fan and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Sean Kugler spoke about how the team might add to the position. Maybe he doesn't start as a rookie but he gives them options as both Cole and Gaillard can also play guard.
Round 3: Oregon State EDGE Hamilcar Rashed
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Rashed was a beast in 2019 with 14 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss. However, in 2020, which was a strange year in the Pac-12, he had zero sacks and two tackles for loss in seven games. He is 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, so he is lean, but to get someone with a high upside as a pass rusher, especially situationally, is good in the third round.
Round 5: Oklahoma State RB Chuba Hubbard
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If Hubbard is on the board in the fifth round, just wow. He rushed for over 2,000 yards in 2019 and scored 21 touchdowns. He opted out of the final couple of games in 2020 after missing a pair of games with an ankle injury. In seven games, he had a much more mortal 625 yards and five scores on 4.7 yards per attempt. He averaged 6.4 in 2019.
Round 7: UAB WR Austin Watkins
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The Cardinals got a lean, speedy WR out of UAB a few years ago in J.J. Nelson. Watkins is a different breed. He is a monster. He is 6-3 and 210 pounds and can move. He runs a sub-4.5-second 40. But he is freakishly strong. He benches 365 pounds and squats 500. He is Sammy Watkins' cousin. he had 57 receptions for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns in 2019. Listen to the latest from Cards Wire's Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify. Latest show:
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