Mock drafts are plentiful with a little more than two weeks away from the actual 2026 NFL draft. Some cover the entire first round, while others focus on individual teams for all seven rounds.
SI.com’s Donnie Druin has a new seven-round mock draft for the Arizona Cardinals, and the first two picks are pretty close to ideal.
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7-round Cardinals mock draft results
Round 1: Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey
Round 2: Arizona State OT Max Iheanachor
Round 3: Oklahoma DT Grace Halten
Round 4: Oklahoma G Febechi Nwaiwu
Round 5: North Dakota State QB Cole Payton
Round 6: Arizona State LB Keyshaun Elliot
Round 7: Alabama RB Jamarion Miller
What do we think of these picks?
The combo of Bailey and Iheanachor is probably the most impactful pair of selections in the first and second round the Cardinals can make. Both would start this year. While they could go with a tackle in Round 1, the pass rusher they could get in Round 2 would be a severe downgrade from Bailey.
After those two, it almost doesn’t matter.
They get a quarterback with lots of upside on Day 3, so if they end up in a position to draft one at the top of the first round in 2027, it won’t feel like they wasted a pick, and Payton, who would be the only quarterback the Cardinals have under contract in 2027, would already have a year in the offense.
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Miller in Round 7 isn’t specialized enough to be a good third-down back, but perhaps he grows into a special teams and specialized role.
Every other pick is a nice selection at positions the Cardinals need to address.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals 7-round projections almost perfect