Few draft experts predicted D.J. Humphries to Arizona Cardinals in the first round

The Arizona Cardinals’ first-round selection Thursday of offensive lineman D.J. Humphries seemingly came out of nowhere, but there were a handful draft experts who got it right — particularly as the NFL Draft got closer and closer.

Of the dozens of mock drafts we tracked in the months leading up to the 2015 draft, only six experts correctly called Humphries to Arizona, and that’s even with each of them releasing several versions of their predictions.

Five out of those who proved to be correct only mentioned Humphries’ name in their latest mock drafts, all released this week. There must have been some recent chatter about the Cardinals eyeing the 6-foot-5 tackle. Those five were Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, NFL Network’s Charley Casserly, NFL.com’s Charles Davis, NFL Network’s Mike Mayock and ESPN’s Todd McShay.

One prescient guy — Eric Galko of Optimum Scouting — called this pick way back on March 25, although in his latest mock draft, he had the Cardinals taking running back Melvin Gordon.

Humphries played in 29 games — including 19 starts — in three seasons for the Florida Gators, according to his NFL.com draft profile. He was named to the All-Freshman SEC team in 2012, but missed the final five games of his sophomore season with a sprained MCL. Humphries played in about 67 percent of the Gators’ snaps in 2014, even while missing two games with an injury.

The offensive tackle’s father, also named D.J., played wide receiver at Presbyterian College and later in the the Arena Football League.

The 21-year-old Humphries looks to add depth to a line that includes left tackle Jared Veldheer, new left guard Mike Iupati, right tackle Bobby Massie and right guard Jonathan Cooper — the latter who was taken by the Cardinals in the first round two years ago.