The NFL draft begins Thursday night and we have some final mock drafts around the Internet to look at. The USA TODAY Sports network combined to make picks for the entire first round, with writers making selections for the teams they cover in their market.
For the Arizona Cardinals, AZCentral Sports’ Bob McManaman, who is the beat writer for the team, has the Cardinals going with a wide receiver, landing Arkansas wideout Treylon Burks.
Arizona could go with an edge rusher here such as George Karlaftis or Boye Mafe, but Burks could do wonders in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. Kyler Murray gets another intriguing target.
Burks would be the fifth receiver off the board when the Cardinals select him. He isn’t an ideal fit in terms of usage. He has the size to play outside at 6-3 and 225 lbs but played roughly three-quarters of his snaps in the slot.
He would be the team’s No. 4 receiver as a rookie. They would have to manufacture touches for him much like they did last year for Rondale Moore, who is expected to be the Cardinals’ starting slot receiver in 2022.
Penn State’s Jahan Dotson is still on the board in this mock draft and might be the guy the Cardinals take if they are looking at a receiver.
With guard Zion Johnson and pass rusher George Karlaftis both on the board, the Cardinals could go in those directions as well and both would probably be better fits, at least in Year 1.
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