Patrick Mahomes would be perfect Carson Palmer successor

The Arizona Cardinals need to find a capable successor to Carson Palmer, and Texas Tech stud Patrick Mahomes could be the perfect fit…

Three months ago, we pegged Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the second round to the Arizona Cardinals in a team mock draft…

It’s crazy how much can change in three months as it relates to the value of specific players, but the idea that Mahomes would be a great fit in Arizona remains, and has perhaps strengthened. Here’s what we wrote back then:

"What the Cardinals do moving forward at the quarterback position will be among the more interesting storylines to follow in the NFL this offseason. Carson Palmer is still under contract, but there needs to be a contingency plan, one better than Drew Stanton.It’s time the Cardinals invest in a quarterback, and this could be the perfect time."

The Cardinals certainly need a contingency plan in place. Not only were there rumors of head coach Bruce Arians retiring this offseason, but there was seemingly a decent chance that Carson Palmer would retire as well.

Heck, even Larry Fitzgerald has been included in the retirement talk lately…

Times are definitely changing in Arizona, which means that the future needs to start getting a little bit more serious consideration. The Cardinals have done a great job of building their roster over the last few years, but after a down season in 2016, it’s clear that the rebuilding or ‘reloading’ phase has already started.

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Of course, there’s no true backup plan at quarterback for the Cardinals, and Mahomes is the player I think would be the best fit in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Of course, if the Cardinals had a chance to get DeShaun Watson, they might take that as well, but I think Mahomes’ skillset would be great for the Bruce Arians offense with his big arm and huge potential.

Mahomes wasn’t in a pro-style offense in college, but that might not matter as much with Arians’ offense because of the amount of time he’d spend in shotgun formation and the quick-strike aerial attack he runs. Arians knows how to extract the best out of his quarterbacks, which is part of the reason he’s so highly respected in the NFL today.

But without Palmer, the Cardinals are almost irrelevant. Palmer’s play took a step back in 2016, but there’s still hope he can bounce back for another year, and the former top pick out of USC might be on borrowed time as it is.

This might not be a year where the well of quarterbacks is overflowing with talent, but Mahomes has special ability and would be an ideal player to sit for a year and learn the NFL game. He reminds me a lot of Derek Carr coming out, but I think he’s got even better arm talent.

Arizona would be wise to make Mahomes their first round pick, provided he’s still on the board.

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