Cardinals address O-line, 2 Sun Devils go in Yates’ 1st-round mock draft
ESPN's Field Yates predicts the Cardinals to take a top offensive tackle prospect at No. 3 while two Sun Devils go Day 1 in his first mock draft.
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One month remains before the new league year, and mock draft season has hit another gear across the NFL.
ESPN’s Field Yates released his first mock draft of the offseason on Wednesday where he projects the Arizona Cardinals to take Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa at No. 3 overall.
While most of the attention surrounding the Cardinals will most likely be centered around the future of Kyler Murray, Yates believes Arizona could use its first-round pick to make the offensive transition under new head coach Mike LaFleur a bit easier.
If the Cardinals adopt a system under new head coach Mike LaFleur that mirrors what the Rams ran this past season (where LaFleur was the OC), they will prioritize a gap running scheme with powerful offensive linemen. That fits well with Mauigoa, who plays with exceptional power and very good foot speed for a player of his 6-foot-6, 315-pound size. He allowed only two sacks and six pressures his final college season, and Arizona needs to improve at right tackle opposite Paris Johnson Jr.
Yates is the latest of many draft analysts to mock an offensive tackle prospect to Arizona after a 2025 season where the team’s offensive line was plagued by injury and underperformance.
Both Mauigoa and Utah’s Spencer Fano, Yates’ No. 6 overall selection, have been popular draft predictions for the Cardinals given Arizona’s need for an upgrade within the trenches. Either have the potential to be plugged in at right tackle opposite left tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
Further down in the top 10, Yates has Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson landing with the New Orleans Saints at No. 8 overall.
The draft analyst put Tyson atop the wide receiver class in his ranking of the top 25 draft prospects, and although he foresees Ohio State’s Carnell Tate going to the Commanders at No. 7 overall, he still views the two-time First-Team All-Big 12 wideout as a potential dynamic weapon alongside quarterback Tyler Shough.
Tyson would be a huge addition to Kellen Moore’s offense, which still needs more playmaking alongside Chris Olave. At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Tyson is electric with the ball in his hands. He totaled 29 catches, 444 yards and three touchdowns in the final three games he played in 2024 before being knocked out for the season with an injury. His 2025 season was limited by uneven QB play and injuries, but he can be schemed up for as many touches as possible in New Orleans.
15 picks later, Yates predicts another Sun Devil will hear his name called on Day 1 with offensive tackle Max Iheanachor going to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 23 overall.
Iheanachor’s draft stock has exploded after a strong showing at the Senior Bowl, and a 2025 campaign where he allowed only 14 pressures in 860 snaps on the way to being named Second-Team All-Big 12 showed enough promise to potentially be the successor to five-time All-Pro Lane Johnson.
He has terrific size at 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds, plus his nifty footwork allows him to hold up in pass protection.
Iheanachor will need time to develop, as he did not play high school football and must refine his technique. (He took nine penalties in 2025, too.) Philly would be an ideal landing spot since he can sit and learn behind a future Hall of Famer for at least a year.
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Comments
4 Comments
Oline, Oline Oline Oline Oline Oline Oline Picks 1 thru 7. You would think they couldn't screw this up, right?
The potential of 2 young tackles locking in those positions for years sounds good. You can upgrade the interior with picks plus some good free agents while you develop those guys (assuming Monty can draft good lineman, something Keim could not do!)
Combine 2 young tackles with the best TE in the league, hopefully a healty Conner and Benson, and 2 young WRs with plenty of potential, that's a good presentation for Malik Willis
Can't go wrong with OLine, especially Mauigoa from Miami.
HOWEVER, when I look at Reuben Bain game tape, I see someone who has the potential to be a Franchise Changer. I could care less that he has short arms. On tape I see a gigantic, chiselled rock-of-a-man who is still growing, 6'3, 275-290, who has a non-stop motor like J.J. Watt, freakish bend for a man his size, and ungodly strength. Bains is much like the Rams Verse, only Bains is much bigger, stronger and has a better motor. This season Bains has gone up against 8 Lineman who will likely be drafted in the 1st 3 Rounds, and shown that he can completely overpower them all. Combining him with Walter Nolen and Darius Robinson would make the Cardinals DLine among the Top 5 in the NFL. CBS Sports has had him as their No. 2 Prospect Overall, all year.