Three weeks away from the 2025 NFL draft, there is no shortage of mock drafts and projections. A new two-round mock draft from ESPN's Field Yates has some interesting commentary about the Arizona Cardinals and what they might do with their first two selections.
In his new projections, he has the Cardinals making a selection in the first round that makes sense but for a reason perhaps that doesn't, while in the second round, the player could be a steal.
Round 1: Texas OT Kelvin Banks
With the moves made in free agency to add defensive linemen and outside linebackers, a first-round defensive player might not get much playing time as a rookie. An offensive lineman really feels like the pick at No. 16, especially with the starting right guard job up for grabs and the right tackle job uncertain with Jonah Williams' knee injury.
Yates suggests that selecting Banks, a three-year starter at left tackle in college, would mean moving Paris Johnson back to right tackle where he played his rookie season. That would be unlikely.
What would likely be the plan would be to have Banks play right guard as a rookie, assuming that Williams is healthy to start a right tackle, before Banks moves over as the long-term right tackle.
Round 2: Texas A&M EDGE Nic Scourton
Getting Scourton in the second round would be huge. He led the Big Ten with 10 sacks in 2023 for Purdue before transferring to the Aggies. He only had five sacks last season, but Texas A&M doesn't feature their edge rushers for sacks. Scourton, noted by Yates as a great run defender, has many pass-rushing moves. He only had five sacks in 2024 and fellow edge rusher Shemar Stewart, who is a top-10 pick in Yates' mock draft, only had 1.5.
Coming away from the first two rounds of the draft with Banks and Scourton would be a win for the Cardinals.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Field Yates' 2-round mock draft has Arizona Cardinals landing OT, EDGE
