Arizona baseball had won five of its last seven games, which included three road wins, entering Friday evening’s matchup with Kansas State.
Arizona
NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals trade down after missing out on Marvin Harrison Jr.
While most NFL mock draft projections for the Arizona Cardinals continue to predict Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. landing with the team at No. 4 in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, we are starting to see some predictions for a different course of action for Arizona.
Some NFL mock drafts have the Cardinals trading down in the draft after missing out on Harrison Jr., widely considered a generational pass-catching talent.
Could the Cardinals trade their No. 4 pick in order to stockpile for draft picks this season and in the future?
Check out recent NFL mock draft predictions for the Cardinals in the 2024 NFL Draft, which is scheduled to begin with the first round on April 25.
When is 2024 NFL Draft? NFL draft order, date, location, what to know after NFL Week 18
NFL.com: Cardinals trade No. 4 pick to Denver Broncos
Chad Reuter’s latest mock draft has the Cardinals shifting draft strategy after Harrison Jr. is picked by the New England Patriots at No. 3, with Arizona trading the No. 4 pick to the Denver Broncos for the No. 12 pick in this year’s draft, a 2025 first-round pick and a third-rounder this year.
Arizona’s pick at No. 12 in Reuter’s mock draft? LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.
He writes of the selection: “The Cardinals trade down and still land the playmaker they need in Nabers. His skill set compares favorably to that of former LSU receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was picked 12th overall by the Giants in 2014.”
Bettingodds.com: Cardinals trade No. 4 pick to Atlanta Falcons
Kyle Odegard’s mock draft has Harrison Jr. also landing with the Patriots at No. 3. He has Arizona getting the No. 8 overall pick, No. 43 overall pick and a 2025 third-round selection in the deal.
With the pick at No. 8, Odegard projects the Cardinals to select Washington WR Rome Odunze, writing: “Some people may not like this result, missing out on Harrison and then Alt by one slot apiece. But Odunze has proven to be a special talent in his own right and fills a great area of need for the Cardinals. Arizona amassed 915 total yards of offense in its final two games without much of anything at receiver, and the addition of the 6-foot-3, 215-pound playmaker on the outside would add another aerial threat alongside Trey McBride.”
NFL power rankings 2024: Arizona Cardinals ‘playoff sleeper’ with Kyler Murray next season
Footballguys.com: Cardinals trade No. 4 pick to Minnesota Vikings
A draft projection from Christian Williams ends up with Arizona landing the No. 11, No. 42 and a 2025 first-round pick in exchange for the No. 4 and No. 224 selections after Harrison Jr. is selected by the Patriots one pick before Arizona’s.
Williams has Arizona going with Alabama CB Terrion Arnold at No. 11.
He writes of the pick: “After trading down, the Cardinals get the first cornerback off the board. Terrion Arnold is an excellent blend of size, speed, and ball skills, vaulting him to the top of the class. The Cardinals desperately need to improve their secondary if they plan to compete in 2024.”
CBS Sports: Cardinals take Washington WR Rome Odunze at No. 4
In Chris Trapasso’s most recent NFL mock draft projection, Harrison Jr. also goes to the Patriots at No. 3, leaving the Cardinals with a difficult choice at No. 4.
He has Arizona keeping the pick and taking Odunze to help Kyler Murray and the Cardinals’ offense, writing: “The Cardinals are desperate for a quarterback-friendly boundary receiver, and they’d get that with Odunze.”
NFL MVP odds for 2024-2025 season: How much of a longshot is the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray?
More NFL mock draft projections for Arizona Cardinals in 2024 NFL Draft:
NFL mock draft: USC QB Caleb Williams falls to Arizona Cardinals in 2024 NFL Draft
Where will Marvin Harrison Jr. land? Scenarios for Arizona Cardinals in 2024 NFL Draft
NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals pick Washington’s Rome Odunze in 2024 NFL draft
NFL mock draft: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. to Arizona Cardinals in 2024 NFL Draft?
NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals have options with second first-round 2024 NFL draft pick
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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In these four-round projections, the Arizona Cardinals don’t get a tackle until the fourth round.
We are just days away from the 2026 NFL draft, and that means some final mock drafts. What direction will the draft take the Arizona Cardinals?
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy put together a four-round mock draft for the Cardinals. They go defense early but rebuild the offense for 2026 and moving forward, including landing their potential franchise quarterback.
Cardinals 4-round mock draft
Here are the players in the first four rounds Popejoy projects for Arizona.
- Round 1: Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese
- Round 2: Alabama QB Ty Simpson
- Round 3: Clemson WR Antonio Williams
- Round 4: Florida OT Austin Barber
What we think of the picks
The Cardinals want to trade out of the third pick and draft a tackle, so not getting a tackle until Round 4 seems unlikely, although they did meet with Barber. They do have options at right tackle for 2026 already on the roster.
Reese would be a great pick if they don’t trade back, as they badly need pass-rushing help off the edge.
Drafting Simpson seems inevitable at this point, so it has to be in a mock draft, although the feeling is they will need to go up into Round 1 again to get him.
Williams has speed and is almost six feet tall, but he does have short arms.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
In the first game of the series, Arizona (14-23, 5-11 Big 12) battled in a low-scoring affair but fell short in a 2-1 loss to Kansas State (24-12, 8-8 Big 12). The Wildcats from Tucson held the Wildcats from Manhattan at bay for a good majority of the night.
Given that Kansas State leads the Big 12 in conference play in batting, on-base percentage, and slugging, Arizona had a rather good performance, but it was not enough.
Owen Kramkowski pitched seven scoreless innings before allowing the first Kansas State run in the top of the eight. He finished with six strikeouts and kept the high octane Wildcats at bay.
“I thought the defense played well behind him too,” said head coach Chip Hale. “There’s a lot of ground balls, and we made plays where we were positioned in good places, and he was pitching in the eighth inning. That’s unbelievable.”
Garrett Hicks (3-1) came in to try and stop the bleeding for the Wildcats and did so by not allowing Kansas State to take the lead in the eighth. It was in the ninth when the lead was surrendered.
It took until the sixth inning but the first run was scored by Arizona. Andrew Cain singled to left field and after Maddox Mihalakis flew out, it was Beau Sylvester bringing Cain home with a triple through right center field.
Sylvester extended his hitting streak to eight games and it proved to be not enough to get Arizona to the finish line.
Kansas State tied the game at the top of the eight when back to back singles got runners on at first and third. Then a passed ball allowed the third base runner to come home.
Arizona had a chance to retake the lead in the bottom of the ninth after Cain singled to deep right field. With Sylvester back at the plate, it seemed like it was a perfect set up.
A wild pitch nearly got past Kansas State and Cain tried to take advantage of it and steal home. However, Kansas State was able to corral the pitch and get Cain out at home.
AJ Evasco started the ninth inning with a double for Kansas State and back to back fly outs eventually got him home to give Kansas State the lead and the win.
With eight players being left on base, Arizona will need to bring those runners in more often than not if they want to tie the series Saturday afternoon.
As a young team, the Wildcats have had to walk a very tight line between disappointment and dejection and will need to continue handling these losses with grace if it wants to turn a corner.
“It’s the way it goes, it’s baseball,” said Hale. “If we don’t handle it, we will come out tomorrow and won’t be ready to go, so hopefully they handle it.”
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