Cardinals just miss out on Heisman winner in new mock draft
The Arizona Cardinals enter the offseason with a number of positional needs. Despite having DeAndre Hopkins, they need production at receiver. They need cornerbacks and could always use pass-rushing help.
In the latest mock draft from Pro Football Focus, a dynamic receiver falls to the middle of the first round but is selected one pick before the Cardinals’ selection at No. 16.
Many Cardinals fans would love to see Alabama receiver and Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith paired with Hopkins at receiver. He gets selected 15th overall by the New England Patriots. That would be heartbreaking.
The Cardinals instead land a pass rusher — Penn State’s Jayson Oweh.
Oweh is another excellent athlete who has started to round out his game. He improved significantly against the run in 2020, and he’s posted back-to-back years of 80.0-plus pass-rush grades. With his get-off and length, Oweh is just scratching the surface, and like (Michigan EDGE Kwity) Paye, he may be even better in the NFL than he was in college.
Oweh was not productive in 2020. In seven games, he had no sacks but had 6.5 tackles for loss among his 38 total tackles. In 2019, he had five sacks and five tackles for loss. He also forced a pair of fumbles.
Perhaps he has a high ceiling, but selecting a pass rusher in the first round with seven total career sacks in college seems like a reach.
If a pass rusher is on their radar at that pick, someone like Miami’s Gregory Rousseau, who goes 23rd in this mock draft, would make more sense, as he had 15.5 sacks alone in 2019 before opting out of the 2020 season.
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