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.<\/p>\n
SI.com’s Donnie Druin has a new seven-round mock draft<\/a> for the Arizona Cardinals<\/a>, and the first two picks are pretty close to ideal.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n 7-round Cardinals mock draft results<\/p>\n Round 1: Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey<\/p>\n Round 2: Arizona State OT Max Iheanachor<\/p>\n Round 3: Oklahoma DT Grace Halten<\/p>\n Round 4: Oklahoma G Febechi Nwaiwu<\/p>\n Round 5: North Dakota State QB Cole Payton<\/p>\n Round 6: Arizona State LB Keyshaun Elliot<\/p>\n Round 7: Alabama RB Jamarion Miller<\/p>\n What do we think of these picks?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n After those two, it almost doesn’t matter.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Every other pick is a nice selection at positions the Cardinals need to address.<\/p>\n Get more Cardinals<\/a> and NFL coverage from Cards<\/a> Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Apple podcasts<\/a>.<\/p>\n