Cardinals acquire veteran WR in Barnwell’s trade-filled mock draft

Trades aren’t necessarily commonplace across the NFL mock draft landscape.

Even when it comes to the Arizona Cardinals’ No. 16 overall pick, which could easily be a trade piece come April, the Arizona Sports Mock Draft Tracker has just five trades out of 170-plus entries.

That hasn’t stopped ESPN’s Bill Barnwell from constructing his yearly nothing-but-trades edition released Monday.

Making 32 first-round trade, Barnwell has the Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers making a deal centered around first-round draft capital and a couple of pass catchers:

Cardinals receive: No. 21 overall, WR George Pickens

Steelers receiver: Nos. 16 and 115, WR Michael Wilson

The Cardinals didn’t get what they hoped out of wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. as a rookie, but some of that might have been what was around him. While tight end Trey McBride had an excellent season, they didn’t get much from Wilson or Greg Dortch. Upgrading at wide receiver would give them the ability to move Harrison around the formation and get him more one-on-one opportunities on the outside.

Meanwhile, the Steelers signaled their desire to upgrade at wide receiver themselves by trading a second-round pick for DK Metcalf and giving him a $150 million extension. There were already rumblings about them moving on from Pickens after a frustrating end to 2024, and with Metcalf now making $33 million per season, there’s probably not going to be enough money for Pickens to get a similar deal.

Bill Barnwell’s trades only mock draft accomplishes 2 things for Cardinals

While losing Wilson and an additional pick could be tough for general manager Monti Ossenfort, who is known to covet draft capital, a move of this magnitude could help check a couple things off the to-do list for Arizona.

The first thing? Still landing a first-round pick in the deal.

Moving down five spots is just fine given the amount of depth this draft at positions of need for the Cardinals, such as offensive line. Alabama’s Tyler Booker and Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson and Josh Simmons come to mind right away and are trending toward being no higher than late first-round options.

Looking at defensive line depth or cornerback are two more avenues the Cardinals could go at No. 21.

You know which way they wouldn’t? Wide receiver.

Pickens is a proven talent at the NFL level and would be an upgrade at WR2. Across three seasons, he’s reeled in 174 catches for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns in 48 games played (40 starts). He’s two years removed from a 1,140-yard effort in 2023.

As for Pickens’ biggest negative? His on-the-field antics that do more harm than good and are the opposite of team-first mentality. And they could be a reason why the Steelers appear to have an exit strategy with the addition of DK Metcalf and could add even more pass-catching help this NFL Draft.

Still, having a legit second option alongside Harrison could really open things up for the second-year pro following an up-and-down year highlighted by eight touchdowns.

And if the Pickens experiment didn’t work out, Arizona wouldn’t be on the hook for more than a year with Pickens entering the final season of his rookie contract.

On top of that, the Cardinals would also be in the market for a compensatory pick if Pickens went elsewhere.

It’s a wild hypothetical move, but not the worst one for the Cardinals given their current makeup.

Michael Wilson’s tenure with the Cardinals

After injuries limited Wilson to 13 games (12 starts) as a rookie, the 2023 third-round pick (No. 94 overall) kicked the injury bug for the most part behind 16 games (13 starts) in Year 2.

During that span, he caught 47 of 71 targets for 548 yards and four touchdowns. He set career highs in catches and scores.

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