For the Arizona Cardinals and the rest of the NFL, it is NFL draft prep season. The draft is in about five more weeks and that means finalizing evaluations of college players.
Teams meet with scores of players. The Cardinals have met virtually with Illinois defensive lineman Keith Randolph Jr., he told The Draft Network’s Justin Melo, after having met with every team in the NFL at the Senior Bowl.
Randolph was part of Illinois’ No. 1 defense in 2022. He is the less heralded player on the defensive line, as he played alongside projected first-round pick Johnny Newton.
In five seasons at Illinois, he had 159 total tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, two interceptions, four pass breakups and a forced fumble.
His best season was in 2022 when he had 4.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
He is 6-foot-3 and 296 pounds. At the NFL combine, he ran the 40 in 5.15 seconds and posted a 28.5-inch vertical leap and 8-foot-9 broad jump.
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