With the NFL combine beginning this week, there was a new set of mock drafts. One came from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.
The Arizona Cardinals have a number of needs this offseason and some mock drafts have them going with a receiver, others have them taking a pass rusher and even others have them going with a cornerback.
Bucky Brooks has the Cardinals going with Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie. Farrar has the Cardinals going with McDuffie’s teammate. Instead of McDuffie, Farrar projects the Cardinals use the 23rd overall pick to select Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon.
Last season, the Cardinals’ cornerbacks allowed 25 touchdowns to just five interceptions. Few teams (even the really bad ones) have a more glaring need, and this is something general manager Steve Keim has been trying to get right for a while. The current contractual schism with Kyler Murray aside, this team is going to find it tough to be taken seriously in the NFC West until the secondary gets sorted out. Byron Murphy aside, this just isn’t’ working.
So, let’s give the Cardinals another Kyler, at least while they have the other one. This Kyler, one of two Washington cornerbacks taken in the first round in this mock, gave up just 21 catches on 41 targets last season for 243 yards, 70 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 49.1. Gordon is a big, aggressive defensive back who’s still putting his overall coverage plan together, but when it all comes together, it’s pretty tough to deal with. He’d be a great Murphy bookend in a defense with desperate needs here.
They added Marco Wilson in the fourth round last season and he ended up starting. Adding Gordon would give the Cardinals a young group.
Gordon is listed at 6-0 and 200 lbs. He had 45 tackles, two interceptions and seven pass breakups last season.
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