NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals trade back, nab Monroe Freeling
Just as the Cardinals did in 2023, they trade back from No. 3 to No. 12 in a new mock draft.
The Arizona Cardinals , when they had the third pick in the 2023 draft, rather than selecting pass rusher Will Anderson, they traded back and then back up to get an offensive lineman — tackle Paris Johnson. In a new mock draft from The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, the Cardinals do it again. They trade back from the third overall pick, passing on a pass rusher, moving back to land an offensive lineman.
Cardinals trade with Cowboys Feldman projects a trade with the Dallas Cowboys, giving them the third overall pick for the 12th pick and the 92nd pick in the draft, a third-rounder. Trading back is very possibly something the Cardinals are willing to do, but there is no way the Cardinals move back to the 12th pick at that price. When they made the same move from No.
3 to No. 12 in a deal with the Houston Texans, the Cardinals received the 12 pick, the 33rd pick and the Texans' selections in the first and third rounds of the following year's draft. But for the purposes of this mock draft, it does its job.
It moves the Cardinals back for more picks. Cardinals select O-lineman With the 12th pick, the Cardinals last Georgie tackle Monroe Freeling. With Mauigoa and Fano gone, Arizona goes with a tackle whose stock has risen throughout draft season.