The NFL Draft is less than a month away, and the mocks just keep pouring in.
There was a flood of NFL Draft projections over the last two weeks, fueled largely by the San Francisco 49ers swinging a big deal to move up to number three in the first round. And while that did influence some change in thinking, Week 14 of our NFL Mock Draft Tracker on ArizonaSports.com is pretty much business as usual for the Cardinals.
Cornerbacks Jaycee Horn of South Carolina (12) and Caleb Farley of Virginia Tech (5) still show up more than any other players in the 32 mock drafts we’ve added to the mix this week. But we did say “pretty much business as usual”.
A player showing up more and more is Alabama running back Najee Harris, who appeared linked to the Cardinals four different times this week.
Harris, with his size, skill and pass-catching ability, would certainly fill a need for Arizona, a team with only one running back currently on the roster (Chase Edmonds) who has carried the ball in an NFL game.
Harris had a stellar career for the Crimson Tide, playing in the shadows of Bo Scarborough, Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs in his first two years and then excelling as a lead back in 2019 and 2020. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound back ran for 2,690 yards and 39 touchdowns while adding 70 catches for 729 yards and 11 touchdowns over his last two college seasons. He is widely regarded as the top running back in this year’s draft class.
But does he make sense for the Cardinals at No. 16 as four different mocks previewed this past week?
Not according to ESPN’s draft guru, Mel Kiper Jr.
“The grade doesn’t match up with that, guys,” Kiper said on Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta Wednesday. “I’ve always said if the grade matches up and you’ve got a head coach banging the table saying, ‘I’ve gotta have this guy’ then I might sign off on it.”
Of course we don’t know where Steve Keim has Harris graded or if Kliff Kingsbury is that coach banging on the table.
“I’ve got Harris number-25 on my big board, and if you’re picking 16, you’ve got to get somebody inside your top ten,” Kiper said. “Najee, while I like him, it would be awfully rich to take him at that 16-spot.”
We know how Mel Kiper feels, we’ll see if Cardinals’ brass feels the same way April 29.
Arizona Sports 2021 NFL Mock Draft Tracker
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*10 – Cardinals pick Pitts at #7 after a proposed trade with the Detroit Lions
*9 – Cardinals pick Farley at #18 after a proposed trade with the Miami Dolphins
*8 – Cardinals pick Ojulari at #21 after a proposed trade with the Indianapolis Colts
*7 – Cardinals pick Joseph at #30 after a proposed trade with the Buffalo Bills
*6 – Cardinals pick Horn at #13 after a proposed trade with the Los Angeles Chargers
*5 – Cardinals pick Farley at #19 after a proposed trade with the Washington Football Team
*4 – Cardinals pick Newsome at #21 after a proposed trade with the Indianapolis Colts
*3 – Cardinals pick Surtain at #14 after a proposed trade with the Minnesota Vikings
*2 – Cardinals pick Surtain at #13 after a proposed trade with the Los Angeles Chargers
*1 – Cardinals pick Ojulari at #23 after a proposed trade with the New York Jets
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