Arizona

Mel Kiper releases mock draft 2.0, has Arizona Cardinals adding wide receiver and defensive lineman

Published

2 years ago

February 28, 2024

Mel Kiper releases mock draft 2.0, has Arizona Cardinals adding wide receiver and defensive lineman

For the Arizona Cardinals, it seems like there are a couple of choices they can make, and one of the biggest questions is what they do with the fourth overall pick.

Mel Kiper Jr. released his 2024 NFL Mock Draft 2.0 today on E$PN, and pondered the same a little bit:

But unlike in usual drafts, when most trades up into the top five are for quarterbacks, I wonder if teams might try to trade up for Harrison. Would Arizona be able to pass up, for instance, a 2025 first-round pick to move down nine spots with Las Vegas? I’m not saying it would be able to get that haul, but it’d have to consider a deal if it did, right? The looming question is: Are the Cardinals a wide receiver away from contending?

In the end, he goes chalk and takes Marvin Harrison Jr.:

4. Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr. – Wide Receiver, Ohio State

Luckily, this doesn’t have to be decided today. Harrison would slot in perfectly as Kyler Murray’s No. 1 target, and Arizona also has the Texans’ first-round pick at No. 27.

For 27, it seems like a much easier decision:

27. Darius Robinson – DL, Missouri

And when I went back to study his 2023 tape, you can see his performance was no fluke. Robinson put up 8.5 sacks and 35 total pressures. He’s a fit for teams that run a 4-3 base scheme.
Arizona’s defense had a rough 2023, ranking 32nd in QBR allowed (57.3) and rushing yards allowed per game (143.2) and 30th in sacks (33). The franchise should devote this second Round 1 pick — which was acquired from Houston’s trade up last April — to the front seven.

Getting Robinson, who has a high-end comp to Cameron Jordan, would be a massive win for a team that desperately needs talent along the defensive line.

What would you think of this first round haul?

Highest Ranked prospects per Daniel Jeremiah after round one:

21. Edgerrin Cooper, LB – Texas A&M
23. Ennis Rakestraw, CB – Missouri
26. Bo Nix, QB – Oregon
28. Jer’Zhan Newton, DT – Illinois
29. Jackson Powers-Johnson, C – Oregon
32. Zach Frazier, IOL – West Virginia
33. Adonai Mitchell, WR – Texas
35. Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB – Alabama

For me, it is either Rakestraw, Newton or even Cooper. I may consider Powers-Johnson or Frazier, but the need on defense is so great it seems like getting a top 30 player (according to DJ) would be too much to pass up.

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Arizona

Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers live updates. Arizona DH back in the lineup

Published

57 minutes ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers live updates. Arizona DH back in the lineup

LOS ANGELES — After tests on his sore elbow revealed no structural damage, Pavin Smith took batting practice and was declared ready to return to the Diamondbacks’ lineup.

Smith, who was a late scratch on Opening Day, was a late addition on Day 2. He will bat fifth and serve as the designated hitter, sending Tim Tawa to the bench.

Smith is a relatively important member of the Diamondbacks lineup as a potential impact hitter against right-handed pitching. Last year, he hit .265/.361/.456 with eight homers against righties in 226 at-bats.

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34

Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (7-3, 3.39)* vs. Dodgers RHP Emmet Sheehan (6-3, 2.82)*.

At Dodger Stadium: Nelson opened last season in the bullpen but moved into the rotation full time after RHP Corbin Burnes went down with elbow surgery. He was impressive from that point on, putting up a 3.38 ERA across 20 starts from June 1 onward. … Nelson faced the Dodgers three times (two starts) last season, giving up four runs in 13 innings with one walk and 12 strikeouts. … Nelson has solid career numbers against most Dodgers hitters, including 3B Max Muncy, who is 0 for 8 with three walks and five strikeouts. … Sheehan, 26, a sixth-round pick out of Boston College in 2021, returned from Tommy John surgery last year and performed well, logging a 2.82 ERA in 73 1/3 innings. He also logged important innings for the Dodgers out of the bullpen in the postseason. … Sheehan has never faced the Diamondbacks. … Last season, he averaged 95.6 mph with his four-seam fastball. He also threw a slider and change-up with the occasional curveball.

Coming up

Saturday, March 28: At Los Angeles, 6:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (9-9, 5.02)* vs. Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (4-3, 3.19)*.

Sunday, March 29: Off.

Monday, March 30: At Chase Field, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Michael Soroka (3-8, 4.52)* vs. Tigers RHP Justin Verlander (4-11, 3.85)*.

Tuesday, March 31: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (13-9, 5.25)* vs. Tigers RHP Casey Mize (14-6, 3.87)*.

* — stats from 2025.

(This story will be updated. Check back soon.)

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Make-A-Wish Arizona creates sea turtle adventure for San Tan Valley boy

Published

13 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Make-A-Wish Arizona creates sea turtle adventure for San Tan Valley boy

Boats, beaches, and buckets of fun! Just the way you’d expect a boy to spend his Florida vacation!

But there was something else 11-year-old Miles Boyd got to do last year when he and his family traveled to Florida. It was a sea turtle adventure that truly became the trip of a lifetime.

“I had never been to the ocean before,” explained Miles. “So see that just wowed me. It was amazing!”

Miles and his family also got to see baby sea turtles on the beach at night.

“The ocean is so mysterious,” says Miles. “It’s such a big place, and the fact that these turtles can move but are so tiny and when they go in the ocean, they get to hundreds of pounds.”

In so many ways, the trip to Palm Beach County, Florida, was a dream vacation for Miles and his family, but it only came after what was a living nightmare.

“I couldn’t imagine losing him,” says Miles’ mom, Natasha.

It was the harsh reality that Natasha had to face after learning her son Miles had a cancerous brain tumor.

“The world just stopped,” Natasha says about the moment she found out the devastating news. “I just sat on the floor and cried.”

Even Miles admits he was scared.

“I’m just a kid, you know what I mean?” he says. “It’s a lot to handle all at once.”

After three brain surgeries, countless hours of therapy and rehab, and having to take a chemo medication twice daily, Miles proved to the world he is a true survivor!

And his trip to Florida, through Make-A-Wish Arizona, proved to be the medication he never knew he needed.

Miles explains that the trip motivated him to keep going.

“It showed me that I made it to this car, and I can keep going,” he says. “I started at the lowest of lows, and now, I’m on a beach – it just gave me confidence and motivated me that I could keep going.”

Last year alone, Make-A-Wish Arizona granted 476 wishes; they’ve also fulfilled more than 8,500 since being founded in 1980.

Across the Globe, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 650,000 wishes since 1980

Miles and Nick Ciletti will co-host Make-A-Wish Arizona’s Wish Ball on Saturday! To learn more about Make-A-Wish Arizona, click here.

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Arizona

11 illegal Indian national truck drivers arrested at Arizona border last month

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

11 illegal Indian national truck drivers arrested at Arizona border last month

Eleven illegal Indian national truck drivers were arrested at the Arizona border in the month of February.

The Yuma Sector Border Patrol arrested 11 total Indian national truck drivers in Yuma, Arizona in February 2026.

According to a Facebook post by the Yuma Sector Border Patrol, all 11 truck drivers held commercial drivers licenses from the states of Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and California. All were “found to be present in the United States illegally.”

“Border Patrol remains committed to upholding immigration laws and protecting our communities,” the post continued.

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