It is certainly mock draft season as the NFL is less than a month away from the actual 2026 draft in Pittsburgh. NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks released his third mock draft of the season, and it brings some common sense back when it comes to the Arizona Cardinals and the quarterback position.
Brooks doesn’t have the Cardinals making any trades back in the first round or trading back into Round 1 to get Alabama QB Ty Simpson. He doesn’t have Simpson going in Round 1 in these projections.
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He does have the Cardinals going with a pass rusher instead of a tackle in Round 1 as well.
Round 1, pick No. 3: Ohio State EDGE Arvell Reese
BPA at No. 3? General manager Monti Ossenfort could indeed grab the best player available here, adding a dynamic defender to Nick Rallis’ unit.
Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey goes second overall to the New York Jets. Reese, who played both off the ball and at the edge, has a high upside as a pass rusher, although it is still raw. The hope and the belief is that he can be like Micah Parsons. But the truth is that his off-ball skills will serve him well at the OLB position.
While the Cardinals could go with a tackle, they have several options at right tackle who could start. They have done nothing at outside linebacker this offseason, and after the disaster that was the OLB position outside of Josh Sweat (everyone else combined for 5.5 sacks while Sweat had a career-high 12), to ignore it with three of the best players in the draft being pass rushers would be irresponsible.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals take pass rusher in new projections