Latest Todd McShay mock has Arizona Cardinals taking Virginia LB Eli Harold

With the ever-increasing coverage of the annual NFL Draft, the release of a new mock draft from a leading expert tends to become a sort of news in itself.

ESPN’s Todd McShay, one of the foremost authorities on all things draft-related, released his third mock draft Thursday, and first since the NFL Scouting Combine.

He’s got the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston with the first overall pick as most recent mocks do.

As far as the Arizona Cardinals, he’s got them selecting Virginia outside linebacker Eli Harold with the 24th pick of the first round.

Writes McShay:

This is a reach in that Harold is only the No. 37 player on our board, but the Cardinals need to improve their pass rush and six have already gone off the board in this scenario. Also, Harold flashed elite physical tools that speak to his upside at the next level with his combine workout, putting up excellent numbers in the three drills most predictive of success for pass-rushers — the 40-yard dash, the 10-yard split and short shuttle — delivering excellent results of 4.6, 1.56 and 4.16, respectively. Arizona could also look to address the D-line, inside linebacker and running back positions this offseason.

Harold, a 6-foot-3, 247-pound defensive end in college, had 54 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in 2014 for the Cavaliers. During his sophomore season in 2013, he led the team with 8.5 sacks.

At the combine, Harold ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash and registered a 35-inch vertical jump.

The Virginia Beach native was an All-ACC second team selection.

You can see all of McShay’s mock draft here (but you have to be an ESPN Insider.) And you can keep updated daily on all the latest mocks from the leading experts in the Arizona Sports Mock Draft Tracker.

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