Arizona Cardinals seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft

Coming in at an impressive 6-foot-5 is Purdue’s Tight End Brycen Hopkins. Because of the massive amount of blitzing the Arizona Cardinals have had to endure this past season, they are going to need extra men on the line to keep Murray clean in the next few years. They are also going to need more athletic options in the seam and flats for short yardage throws when defenders drop into coverage.

With no tight ends on the team managing more than 16 receptions this year, the Arizona Cardinals will need a massive improvement in the offseason. Here is where Hopkins would make an excellent addition to the team. Although known to have a less than stellar pass-blocking technique, the Purdue senior and his massive size should make for some interesting mismatches against the defense.

While Purdue is not exactly known for its future NFL talent, Hopkins has stood out on the Boilermakers as a route-running expert, who can run complicated routes typically reserved for wide receivers. With the number of four and five receiver sets that the Air Raid typically will use, having a 6-foot-5 tight end roaming around the interior of the field makes for an easy target for Murray.

Hopkins is also an above-average contested-catch player, who can survive contact pretty well on 50-50 balls. For Purdue, he scored 7 touchdowns on 61 receptions for an impressive 830 yards (ESPN). Hopkins’ size and catching ability will make for some favorable mismatches against opposing defenses.

His pass and run blocking are not known to be particularly outstanding on his own, but when working on double teams with an offensive lineman, it’s hard to imagine his 6-foot-5 reach wouldn’t make him an asset when blocking.

The Arizona Cardinals have been decimated by blitzing this season. I watched multiple plays this year break down because of it. The team’s current Tight Ends were just no match for the defensive ends that came charging Kyler Murray. Part of this can be blamed on blocking assignments being poorly executed, but the tight ends on the roster should shoulder a fair amount of the blame as well.

Getting a unique play-making tight end on the roster, along with a potential sixth blocker with favorable measurements would be a big win for the offensive side of the ball. The Arizona Cardinals may seek to cure their tight end needs in free agency. But with only 59 listed free agents in 2020 according to Spotrac, the Arizona Cardinals would be wise to address the Tight End position in the draft.