NFL Draft: DT Ross Blacklock will visit with Cardinals around TCU pro day
Mar 11, 2020, 7:51 AM | Updated: 7:55 am
TCU defensive lineman Ross Blacklock speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
(AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Defensive tackle prospect Ross Blacklock told the RapSheet + Friends podcast that he has a meeting set up with the Arizona Cardinals around his pro day at TCU.
“I visit with Cleveland on the sixth and then I fly to the 49ers the day after,” Blacklock said in a pre-recorded interview that appeared on the March 10 episode of the podcast. “I got a couple teams to see me on pro day, have dinner: Arizona and the Bills. That’s just what I heard now, post-combine.”
The Horned Frogs’ pro day isn’t until March 27.
Arizona’s interest in Blacklock could indicate what general manager Steve Keim already hinted at during his NFL Draft Combine availability with reporters: The Cardinals aren’t adverse to trading out of the No. 8 spot if the opportunity arises.
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Blacklock is considered a mid-first-round pick. The defensive tackle is 17th on ESPN’s list of best available players and 18th on NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s rankings.
Of course, a lot has to surprise the Cardinals in the first seven picks if they were to trade out of No. 8, and then a team would need to have good reason to trade up (say, for a quarterback).
Or maybe Arizona could end up valuing Blacklock enough to use the No. 8 selection on him. That would be considered a surprise pick with offensive lineman and receiver looking like bigger needs at the moment.
The Arizona Sports Mock Draft Tracker has yet to find a mock draft that has Arizona taking Blacklock.
Blacklock is considered the draft class’ second-best defensive tackle prospect behind Auburn’s Derrick Brown.
He measured in at the combine at 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds.
The redshirt junior played only two full years in college. He recorded 27 tackles and 2.0 sacks as a redshirt freshman in 2017 and missed all of 2018 with a torn Achilles.
Blacklock shed 25 pounds and rebounded from the injury in a big way, posting 40 tackles and 3.5 sacks for TCU last season.
He has athletic bloodlines. Blacklock’s father, Jimmy, played basketball for the Texas Longhorns and later joined the Harlem Globetrotters, where he now serves as coach.
