Arizona Cardinals 7-round NFL mock draft: Keeping up with NFC West

Brandon Aiyuk won’t have to leave his current Arizona home in this mock draft.

There are a couple of reasons why I didn’t have the Arizona Cardinals going for one of the big three receivers in CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs III in the first round. It begins with the fact that, unlike wide receiver, this draft class is extremely top-heavy at the offensive tackle position. Many predict, including this writer, for this class to be vastly deep with starting-capable receiving talent.

Another concern is that the Cardinals took three receivers in last year’s draft and still need to give time for them to develop in the NFL. Finally, it would be best for the Cardinals to prioritize protection over toys in regards to Kyler Murray.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk holds first-round talent and is an overlooked prospect with high upside at the professional level. The Cardinals would get good draft value with him in the second round.

Aiyuk typically dominated opposing defenses during his time at ASU. Aiyuk obtains sticky hands and can bring the ball down in traffic even with his smaller frame. The number one thing you notice on film is that he excels with the ball in his hands with utilization from his breakaway speed, excellent body control and open-field vision.

He really excels on the deep routes and breaking on his longer stems. Aiyuk is consistently able to find a way to create separation downfield and gain extra yards after the catch. He can also contribute through special teams as he scored as a punt returner during his time with the Sun Devils. He finished with 65 catches for 1,192 yards and eight touchdowns last year. At the scouting combine, Aiyuk ran a 4.5 forty-time and displayed a 40-inch vertical.

The Arizona Cardinals receiving core was disappointing last season. No receiver reached the 1,000 -yard mark, with a 36-year-old Larry Fitzgerald leading the way for the unit… not good. Fitzgerald will likely retire after his contract ends next season. If the Arizona Cardinals decide to take him here, I expect Aiyuk to step up and take the position that’ll be left open once the Fitzgerald calls it quits from the NFL.

The Arizona Cardinals should consider themselves lucky with having Chandler Jones dominating the edge. This grants them the privilege to address the defensive interior in the middle rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft instead of another pass rusher. In 2019, their defense ranked 24th in rushing yards. Rashard Lawrence from LSU should be taken here by the Arizona Cardinals in the draft hopefully help correct this issue.

Lawrence doesn’t win with speed or technique, but rather with leverage and power. He’s quick off the ball and squeezes down to fill the gaps. He strives in using his size and strength to gain leverage while aggressively shedding at his opposing blocker’s arms. With a wide frame, Lawrence specializes at stuffing the run. He is quick off the ball and acquires optimal short-parameter speed. Lawrence was versatile last season, as he was used all over the defensive line.

However, Lawrence is very one-dimensional for an NFL defensive lineman as he lacks heavily in the passing game due to his absence of flexibility, bend and burst. Which explains why he drops this far down the boards.

At the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, Lawrence had an okay showing. As stated earlier, he demonstrated his lack of flexibility but did show off a good get-off with his 40-yard time. Luckily he still showed his abundance of pure power during bag drills such as the new run and club. Nonetheless, Lawrence would fit well in the Arizona Cardinals defense next to Corey Peters and Chandler Jones on even fronts.