NFL.com’s Brooks mocks Georgia’s Jalen Carter to Arizona Cardinals

Another NFL.com mock draft, another defender taken at No. 3 for the Arizona Cardinals.

After Daniel Jeremiah selected Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. to the Cardinals in his first mock draft of the offseason on Friday, Bucky Brooks opted for Georgia’s Jalen Carter with the Arizona’s No. 3 pick in his initial prediction.

Carter, a freak athlete, is precisely what the Cardinals need to disrupt opposing offenses from the inside out.

As a junior this past season, Carter recorded three sacks, seven tackles for loss, three passes defensed and two forced fumbles over 13 games played.

Carter and Anderson have been two names heavily linked to Arizona since the regular season came to an end, given the team’s need for a disruptor along the line following J.J. Watt’s retirement and Zach Allen’s status as a free agent.

That is if the Cardinals keep the pick.

With a handful of teams looking for their next franchise QB, there could be some suitors for the third overall pick that could trade the farm for one of the top signal callers in the 2023 class.

The Chicago Bears, who hold the No. 1 pick and already have their franchise signal caller in place in Justin Fields, and the Cardinals are two teams that could be fielding a lot of calls from QB-needy teams.

In Brooks’ first mock of the year, he has the Bears standing pat and taking Anderson with the first overall pick before the Houston Texans nab Alabama QB Bryce Young at No. 2.

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