The Arizona Cardinals have a number of needs they should address in the 2025 NFL draft. Their biggest need is at outside linebacker for a premier pass rusher.
However, with other needs and depending on how the actual draft plays out, that might not be the position that is best when they make their selection with the 16th overall pick.
In a new two-round mock draft from Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy, the Cardinals don’t land an edge rusher. They end up with an offensive lineman in the first round and a defensive lineman in the second.
In Round 1, they get Texas tackle Kelvin Banks. A tackle isn’t a bad idea because Jonah Williams missed so many games last season, Kelvin Beachum is scheduled to be a free agent and their other option is 2024 fifth-round pick Christian Jones.
Banks protected Quinn Ewers in the SEC last season. Even of the Cardinals keep Williams for another season, they could have Banks even play guard as a rookie.
In the second round, these projections have the Cardinals selecting South Carolina defensive lineman T.J. Sanders.
He is 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds. He had 8.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss over the last two seasons.
The Cardinals drafted defensive lineman Darius Robinson in the first round last year and signed Bilal Nichols and Justin Jones to three-year deals in free agency last year, but adding to the defensive line wouldn’t be a bad thing. It is one of their more pressing needs because all their depth is scheduled to be free agents.
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