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We are now in full offseason mode and that means a lot of mock drafts. With the Super Bowl over, people are beginning to release their post-Super Bowl mocks. We have two for you today. One is from Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, who mocked the entire draft. The other is from Jeff Risdon, who is a regular on Seth Cox's Draft Breakdown podcast (another one will be posted soon, in fact).
Let's start with Risdon's because his picks for Arizona in the first two rounds are interesting. His pick for the first round is a guy who could mean the end of Jonathan Cooper. He picks Kansas State guard/tackle Cody Whitehair.
Two of their last three first-rounders have addressed the offensive line, but the Cardinals still have issues up front. Last season's starting center to right tackle are all free agents, and it's prove it time for '13 first-rounder Jonathan Cooper. Whitehair is technically adept, smart and tenacious. He can also play either guard or tackle, with strong experience at both for the Wildcats.
It is an interesting pick because the Cardinals should already have their starting right guard and right tackle lined up in Cooper and D.J. Humphries, last year's first round pick. Taking Whitehair would mean either they move on from Cooper or they take another first rounder on the offensive line who sits. Neither one of those situations looks good.
Risdon's pick in the second round is Mesa product Kyler Fackrell, an outside linebacker at Utah State. Fackrell is intriguing, He has not been a force in terms of sacks, but has been disruptive with tackles for losses and is already experienced at playing 3-4 OLB, both coming off the edge, playing in space and dropping in coverage.
He would not likely be a pass rushing force. He would be another in the Kareem Martin/Alex Okafor/Sam Acho mold.
There are a couple of negatives on Fackrell. He is almost 25 years old, having taken two years off of college to serve a Mormon mission. He also tore his ACL once.
Now for Matt Miller's 7-round mock. The Cardinals only have picks in six round, though, as their seventh round pick now belongs to the Philadelphia Eagles as a result of the Matt Barkley trade.
Miller has the Cardinals taking Florida DE Jonathan Bullard, a pick we have seen before in other mocks.
The Arizona Cardinals are close to contending for a Super Bowl, and while some may want to blame quarterback Carson Palmer for the team's late-season slide, the defense has to play better, too. Getting Tyrann Mathieu back healthy in 2016 should help, but the lack of talent in the pass-rush department is surprising. It's time for general manager Steve Keim to find a pass-rusher opposite rookie Markus Golden to build the defense around.
Jonathan Bullard is tailor-made for Arizona's defense. He's big enough to play as a 3-technique defensive tackle, but his quickness allowed him to play defensive end at times with the Gators. He's a powerful rusher, and while he doesn't have the speed to bend the edge in the NFL, he'll attack the backfield in his own way and shows the tools to be productive there immediately.
Here are his other picks:
Round 2: Nick Martin, C, Notre Dame (Seth Cox LOVES this guy and would take him in the first round. I could see that happening.)
Round 3: Jalin Marshall, WR. Ohio State (Bruce Arians loves 5-11 or shorter receivers. He also can do things in the return game)
Round 4: Denver Kirkland, G, Arkansas
Round 5: Anthony Zettel, DL, Penn State (He is an intriguing player. He has the size of a 3-4 OLB, but played DT in college.)
Round 6: Jared Norris, LB, Utah