Arizona Cardinals seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft

How do the Arizona Cardinals improve their stock of talent in this seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft?

Mostly thanks to the exciting head coach/quarterback combination of Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray, the Arizona Cardinals are a team on the rise. While the defense certainly still needs some work, Murray has the offense rolling on all cylinders. He is the perfect quarterback for the modern NFL and the ideal player to lead the Arizona Cardinals into the future.

However, for Murray and the Cardinals to reach their ceilings, Arizona must do a better job of surrounding him with talent. This team has obvious needs on both sides of the ball that simply must be addressed going forward. In this seven-round mock draft, we go through a path to success for the Cardinals in the 2020 NFL Draft. First, Arizona goes on the clock with the ninth overall pick.

Note: This mock draft was completed using The Draft Network’s mock draft simulator.

With their first pick of this mock, the Arizona Cardinals make a significant improvement on the defensive side of the ball. A.J. Epenesa has had a mostly underwhelming 2019 season but has been dominant for the Hawkeyes the last few weeks and has to be considered a likely top ten pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Epenesa gets off of the ball quickly and is incredibly powerful at the point of attack. He consistently shows a good pass rush plan and does a great job of playing with proper leverage. While Epenesa is a power-based player, do not sleep on his foot quickness and ability to penetrate up front. Epenesa shows tremendous natural upfield burst and converts from speed to power extremely well. He can even bend around the edge a bit.

The Cardinals could use Epenesa as a defensive end in their 3-4 defense and kick him inside as an interior rusher on obvious passing downs. He is an extremely talented defensive lineman who fills an obvious need for the Cardinals and could come in and make an immediate impact.