April 5, 2026, 2:47 p.m. MT
The 2026 NFL draft approaches in under three weeks, which means we only have a couple of weekends left for mock drafts. NFL.com’s Chad Reuter has new five-round projections, and two quarterbacks are selected in the first round.
The Arizona Cardinals make a predictable pick with the third overall pick, but what about the rest of the five rounds?
Arizona Cardinals picks in 5-round mock draftRound 1: Miami OT Francisco MauigoaRound 2: Ohio State DT Kayden McDonaldRound 3: LSU QB Garrett MussmeierRound 4: Tennessee EDGE Joshua JosephsRound 5: Texas EDGE Trey MooreCommentary
Picking Mauigoa third overall wouldn’t be terrible, but it would be ignoring their huge need on the defensive edge, where they got 5.5 combined from four players at outside linebacker not named Josh Sweat.
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However, not addressing the edge until Day 3 would be tough. Moore was a monster at UTSA, but his production after transferring to Texas (8.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss combined in two seasons) was not impressive.
McDonald is a fantastic prospect. The Cardinals like getting defensive linemen and Ohio State players, but he would be the third D-lineman selected in three drafts in the first two rounds.
We presume the Cardinals will take a quarterback at some point. Nussmeier in Round 3 makes sense. A Day 3 quarterback might be better.
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