Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL mock draft projects Vikings trade up to Cardinals’ pick
Mar 19, 2024, 8:23 AM | Updated: 9:06 am
Jared Verse #DL51 of Florida State participates in the 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 29, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Offseason quarterback shuffling in the NFL will dictate what the Arizona Cardinals have to work with — or who is available to draft — with the No. 4 pick in the 2024 draft.
Atop it all, the Bears’ trade of Justin Fields last week further hardened the likelihood that quarterback Caleb Williams will be picked first by Chicago. But the Minnesota Vikings’ trade with the Houston Texans on Friday could directly change the possibilities for the Cardinals in a trade-down scenario.
RELATED STORIES
The Vikings now have two first-round picks — 11th and 23rd — after Arizona’s fourth overall selection, making them the top trade candidate to leap into the Cardinals’ current position. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah projects such a trade in his third mock draft.
He’s got the Vikings drafting Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy as the fourth quarterback off the board in as many picks — a reach by most mock drafters’ standards for this class.
Jeremiah then has the Cardinals selecting Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse at No. 11 and LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. at 23rd.
Arizona has a third first-rounder at 27th overall (via the Texans) to nab a starting defensive tackle in Texas product Byron Murphy II.
The Cardinals make the last of their three first-round picks and get the best interior pass rusher in the draft class. So, in this scenario, they wrap up Round 1 with arguably the best outside and inside pass rushers available and a receiver who offers as much upside as any pass catcher in the draft.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Verse piled up nine sacks in each of the past two years for Florida State.
Thomas complemented likely top-10 choice Malik Nabers with 1,177 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in the Jayden Daniels-led offense for the Tigers this past season.
The 6-foot-1, 308-pound Murphy finished 2023 with 29 tackles and five sacks from the interior.
That’s three boxes checked before the first round is over, though it comes at the cost of leaving a plug-and-play No. 1 receiver to another team by falling out of the No. 4 draft slot.
