ESPN NFL analyst Peter Schrager has the Arizona Cardinals taking Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron with the No. 16 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Schrager sees Barron, who won the Jim Thorpe Award in 2024, as the best cornerback in the draft and a fit under head coach Jonathan Gannon.
The Thorpe Award winner is the top corner in this class not named Travis Hunter. The Cardinals have been quietly adding premier talent through the draft the past few years. Remember: Head coach Jonathan Gannon is a defensive backs coach by trade. This one makes a lot of sense.
The 5-foot-11, 200 pound cornerback is coming off a season where he registered 67 tackles, 11 passes defensed, five interceptions and a sack. For his efforts, he was named an All-American and First-Team All-SEC.
In five seasons with the Longhorns, Barron registered 226 tackles, 24 passes defensed, eight interceptions and two sacks.
Barron registered 11 tackles in Texas’ 39-31 double-overtime win against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1.
How many times has Jahdae Barron been mocked to the Cardinals?
Barron has been projected to land with the Cardinals in the first round 15 times in the Arizona Sports Mock Draft Tracker.
PFF lists Barron as the second-ranked cornerback, while ESPN sees him as the third best in the draft.
texas cb jahdae barron has been mocked to the arizona cardinals quite a few times in recent weeks.
asu safety xavion alford, a close friend of barron’s from when they played together at texas, gave a scouting report on barron and looked toward a potential reunion in the valley: pic.twitter.com/t0pVeqOecb
— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) April 16, 2025
When does the first round of the NFL Draft begin?
The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft begins on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Watch NFL Draft coverage on the Arizona Sports YouTube channel.Â
