Build those trenches!
Well, my draft prediction of Matthew Golden, the wide receiver taken at #23 by the Green Bay Packers, proved to be an absolutely awful take.
That’s because the Arizona Cardinals went all out on defence with their picks this year and are ready to do battle in the trenches.
Draft starts with the D
Walter Nolen III was the first pick taken at #16. The defensive tackle from Ole Miss had a top 30 visit with the Cards in the build-up to the draft and was hugely admired in the Valley after a 6.5-sack season.
Next up, the Red Birds selected Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, an elite-level player who many had predicted to go early. He slid to the second round due to injury concerns and Arizona pounced at pick #47.
Johnson won the National Championship with the Wolverines in 2024 and was highly coveted coming out of college. If he is healthy, he could end up being one of the steals of the entire draft.
Yet more defence
Despite going D in the first two rounds, Arizona continued to make defensive line additions. First, they added edge rusher Jordan Burch, who posted 11.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss in two seasons at Oregon.
The defensive MVP in the National Championship game, Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon, followed at pick 115. And after a trade with the Cowboys, his Buckeyes teammate, cornerback Denzel Burke, came in Round 5.
The Cards made their only pick on the offensive side of the ball at #211. According to PFF, interior lineman Hayden Conner from Texas played over 550 snaps without allowing a sack.
Safety Kitah Crawford from Nevada, a likely special teamer to begin with at least, finished things off in the 7th Round.
Strengthening the Cards’ hand
With the free agency signings of Josh Sweat and Dalvin Tomlinson, I was not alone in thinking that offensive weapons would have been high on the list of priorities during the draft. But the front office obviously had other ideas.
The organization is clearly happy to run it back with the 2024 offence. They already have a franchise quarterback, an elite wide receiver and one of the best tight ends in the league. They also have the massively underrated James Conner, who has been posting high numbers for years at running back.
Now that the draft is over and the defence is stacked, the roster is looking stronger than ever.
The new kids on the block are yet to play a snap in the NFL. But if they live up to their hype, the Cardinals should be in a good position to punch their ticket to the playoffs next season.
