Arizona
Combine: 9 Offensive Players Who Shot Up Cardinals Draft Board
The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine has officially concluded, and we will walk away from Indianapolis with updated boards. The attention is on the defensive side of the football, but there are still several playmaker on offense who Found a way to stand out.
We will see changes to ordering on an annual basis following the Combine, but this year feels like it could lead to drastic shakeups.
As always, we are focused on the Arizona Cardinals perceptive here, and they were busy on Sunday watching offensive lineman. Of course, they were still looking at this year‘s wide receiver group while monitoring quarterbacks not named Cam Ward, or Shedeur Sanders.
Arizona should be traveling back to the desert happy with what they saw from all three of those position groups. A backup quarterback who can challenge Kyler Murray is needed, and those guys were displayed and looked good.
Upgrades in depth are needed at receiver, including a need for speed, And more than a handful of guys check that off. And the offensive line has players at all five spot — Something that is vital for AZ.
Obviously, running backs and tight ends worked out as well, but considering the Cardinals don’t have a drastic need for either of those positions we will be leaving them out of this piece.
Let’s take a look at the biggest winners from those three spots, starting with quarterback:
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
The top quarterbacks in this draft class decided not to throw the ball to combine and Dart decided to capitalize on that opportunity.
The long time Ole Miss starter was the most consistent passer in Indianapolis, which is currently worth its weight in gold.
As we try and figure out who QB3 is in this class, Dart is continuing to make his case as the runaway third option.
Quinn Ewers, Texas
Ewers also had a nice opportunity to sling the ball around With Ward and Sanders, deciding not to throw. Like Dart, Ewers made the most of it.
What stood out as the biggest point of strength in Ewers’ game has been his mechanics and ball placement. Both were on this way as he was hitting receivers at all three levels of the field.
Tyler Shough, Louisville
Show is undoubtedly one of the quarterbacks that you have likely not heard very much about. After his performance in Indianapolis, you should expect him to be one of the more talked about quarterbacks in the third tier like Riley Leonard and Kurtis Rourke.
With a strong day as anyone else in Indy, show displayed a big arm that helped to separate him from some of the others in front of him, including Dart and Ewers.
Honorable Mention:
Brady Cook (Missouri)
Matthew Golden, Texas
If you were to rank the top five players who made the most of their workouts at this year’s combine, Golden would be among them.
Not only did the star Texas receiver finish the 2024 season as hot as anyone else, but he put on a spectacle and workout clothes including a 4.29-second 40 yard dash time.
It feels like with each passing week that Golden continues to climb up draft boards. At this rate, he’s on a collision course with being a top 20 pick.
Projection: Top-20 pick
Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
The redshirt sophomore from Stanford has as much athletic upside in this class as any other receiver. Ayomanor is a special prospect, despite how green he is with his age.
Ayomanor ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash time plus good leaping ability. There’s a ton of like here and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team liked him enough to roll the dice on him with a top pick. He’s raw, but his upside is through the roof.
Projection: End of RD1; Early Day 2
Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Higgins flew under the radar in 2024 despite eclipsing 1100 receiving yards. While he has made some progress throughout the draft process, it still feels like Higgins is being overlooked and valued.
Hopefully his Combine performance changes that a little bit.
The Iowa State receiver clocked a 4.47–seconds 40-yard dash time to go with a 39” vertical and 10‘8“ broad jump. Athleticism wasn’t a question, but Higgins left it all on the field with lots to like.
Projection: Top-50 pick
Honorable mentions:
Jaylin Noel (Iowa State), Jack Bech (TCU), Tai Felton (Maryland)
Armand Membou, Missouri
Don’t let the fact that Membou Is best suited as a right tackle for you — Membou Is projecting to be a top end offensive line prospect in this class. Someone want him to stay outside, others want him to move to guard. One thing is for certain: he’s going to be a star.
Membou weighed in at 332 lbs and somehow ran a sub-five-second 40-yard dash… That defies logic. The Mizzou product showed plenty of athleticism throughout the other events, and it should mock up a first-round pick for him with the potential to land as high as inside the top 20.
Projection: Top-20 picks; RD1 Lock
Tate Ratledge, Georgia
There’s very few true offensive guards in this class that have people excited. In fact, most of the top perceived guards available are offensive tackles that people want to move inside.
Ratledge is a true guard, but is typically seen as a late day two/day three selection. He may have been able to change his fortunes.
The long-time Georgia standout was able to clock the fastest three-cone of any offensive lineman in Indianapolis The show off his ability to bend and change directions quickly.
Considering the lack of true guards in this draft coupled with an excellent Combine showing, Ratledge has likely secured a spot in the top 100 pics and should be a day two selection.
Projection: Day Two
Grey Zabel, North Dakota State
Zabel played left tackle last season, he played right tackle the year before that, and he has experience guard from previous seasons… And his projection to the pros is center.
No matter where he ends up at the next level, there’s one thing for sure: Zabel is proving himself to be amongst the most athletic offensive lineman in the class regardless of position.
The NDSU product moves fluidly and clearly looks comfortable enough to play any of the five spots. His Combine showing solidified that belief and he should be rewarded with an early selection.
Projection: RD1; Early Day two
Honorable mentions:
Will Campbell (LSU), Jared Wilson (Georgia)
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
Arizona is ranked 18th in the nation when it comes to racial equality in the classroom, according to WalletHub.
The personal finance website compiled its 2026 list of Best States for Racial Equality in Education by looking at differences between Black and white students when it comes to test scores, college attainment and high school graduation rates.
The rankings are based on a weighted average of six metrics, but did WalletHub not provide a breakdown of each category.
However, statistics from the Center for the Future of Arizona support the idea that Arizona has work to do when it comes to racial equality. African American students in Arizona have an average college attainment rate of 38%, while white students have an average rate of 54%.
That difference is also evident in other education areas, with a gap of 11 percentage points between Black and white high schoolers in graduation rate.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo called the high school graduation rate the most “alarming” data set for the Arizona. He said if the study included the state’s large Hispanic population, the results might have been different.
“It would be interesting, if those numbers were included, where the gaps would be. Again, Arizona has a high Hispanic population, as [does] New Mexico, and New Mexico was at number three. So maybe Arizona could take a look at what their neighbors are doing there to kind of bridge those gaps,” he said.
How can Arizona increase racial equality in the classroom?
Lupo said Arizona can boost its ranking and improve racial equality in schools by increasing the representation and funding for public education.
“One thing [to] do is to build more diversity within the school system. More Black administrators and more Black teachers kind of create more of a familiarity for Black students and more mentors. … Increased funding and a more concerted effort to increase diversity among the school systems, I think, would go a long way in bridging that gap,” he said.
WalletHub ranked Wyoming, West Virginia and New Mexico as the best states for racial equality in the classroom, with New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin at the bottom of the list.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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