{"id":848644,"date":"2026-04-02T05:20:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T05:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/848644\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T05:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T05:20:20","slug":"nfl-mock-draft-arizona-cardinals-get-ty-simpson-in-round-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/848644\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals get Ty Simpson in Round 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The 2026 NFL draft is a little more than three weeks away, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/arizona-cardinals\/355\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Arizona Cardinals;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Arizona Cardinals&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Arizona Cardinals<\/a> have been connected to three positions in recent mock drafts. They focus on pass rushers, offensive tackles or Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.<\/p>\n<p>They are the Cardinals&#8217; most pressing needs, so it makes sense.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Draft Wire&#8217;s Curt Popejoy has a <a href=\"https:\/\/draftwire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/draft\/2026\/04\/01\/2026-nfl-draft-two-round-mock\/89378994007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:new mock draft;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;new mock draft&quot;}\" class=\"link \">new mock draft<\/a> that goes two rounds. As has been the trend, Simpson goes to the Cardinals.<\/p>\n<p>See how it happens.<\/p>\n<p>Round 1, No. 3 overall: Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.<\/p>\n<p>Bain is exactly what you want from an all-around edge defender but as a pass rusher, his short arms are unprecedented as far as pass rushers and sack totals. No pass rusher in NFL history has gotten double-digit sacks in a season with arms as short as Bain\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Three of the top prospects in this draft are edge rushers \u2014 Bain, Ohio State&#8217;s Arvell Reese and Texas Tech&#8217;s David Bailey. Bailey goes second overall in these projections, and the Cardinals get Bain.<\/p>\n<p>Bain&#8217;s physical profile might make the selection risky, but he was dominant. The Cardinals have an extra advantage, though, with two former Miami coaches on their staff as assistants.<\/p>\n<p>The consensus is the Cardinals will get a tackle or a pass rusher here, and a pass rusher does give you the best value, especially since the quality significantly drops after the first round.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>They could still get a decent tackle in Round 2. They don&#8217;t, though.<\/p>\n<p>Round 2, No. 34 overall: Alabama QB Ty Simpson<\/p>\n<p>If the Cardinals believe Simpson is that guy to be their quarterback of the future, this isn&#8217;t a bad spot to get him, and not having to trade picks to move up to get him is even better.<\/p>\n<p>But is he a better option than a tackle like Arizona State&#8217;s Max Iheanachor, who is still on the board?<\/p>\n<p>That will be the debate if this happens.<\/p>\n<p>Get more <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/arizona-cardinals\/355\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cardinals;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Cardinals&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Cardinals<\/a> and NFL coverage from <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/arizona-cardinals\/355\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cards;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Cards&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Cards<\/a> Wire&#8217;s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/27gxR7Oml5yVPywhOG8KHR?si=cGJ0FN6aRBquiLus5nj7rw&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=05e790ef05a641b8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Spotify;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Spotify&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/music.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL9sICHPD_aT9zxnG7dJj6izJWgMhLMh_U&amp;si=rpNldnLNN-_DdW8R\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:YouTube;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;YouTube&quot;}\" class=\"link \">YouTube<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-rise-up-see-red-podcast\/id670822447?mt=2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Apple podcasts;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Apple podcasts&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Apple podcasts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: <a href=\"https:\/\/cardswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/cardinals\/2026\/04\/01\/nfl-mock-draft-arizona-cardinals-get-ty-simpson-in-round-2\/89429762007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals get Ty Simpson in Round 2;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;NFL mock draft&quot;}\" class=\"link \">NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals get Ty Simpson in Round 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL draft is a little more than three weeks away, and the Arizona Cardinals have been&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":848645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2078],"tags":[375,390,2604,1327,4155,7,216,4002,6,190,6957,20708],"class_list":{"0":"post-848644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arizona-cardinals","8":"tag-arizona","9":"tag-arizona-cardinals","10":"tag-arizonacardinals","11":"tag-cardinals","12":"tag-david-bailey","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-miami","15":"tag-mock-draft","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-pass-rusher","18":"tag-the-cardinals","19":"tag-ty-simpson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116333433603473547","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}