Advertisement

Ranking the tiers of prospects for the Cardinals in Round 1

Jess Root
·2 min read

The Arizona Cardinals have the 23rd pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft on Thursday. That means they will miss out on a number of the top prospects, naturally.

Opinions vary on the prospects who could be or will be available.

Below are my personal tiers for the prospects and the Cardinals.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Latest show:


Previous shows:


and


So good, they're not happening

Syndication The Columbus Dispatch

These are the players who are more or less top-five to top-10 locks in the draft.

They are players who would and could absolutely make impact players but just simply won’t be available.

  • Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson

  • Georgia EDGE Travon Walker

  • Oregon EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux

  • Cincinnati CB Sauce Gardner

  • Ohio State WR Garrett Wilson

  • N.C. State OL Ickey Ekwonu

  • Alabama OL Evan Neal

  • Mississippi State OL Charles Cross

Redundant

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

These players are promising and most teams would love to have them, but because of the players the Cardinals already have, they are redundant.

  • Liberty QB Malik Willis

  • Pitt QB Kenny Pickett

  • Notre Dame S Kyle Hamilton

  • Utah LB Devin Lloyd

  • Georgia LB Nakobe Dean

Could they somehow fall to the Cardinals?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

I believe these players are fantastic and would be impact difference-makers. They have almost no chance of making it to the Cardinals but there is at least a dim beacon of hope that they could slide.

  • Alabama WR Jameson Williams

  • LSU CB Derek Stingley Jr.

  • Georgia DT Jordan Davis

  • Florida State EDGE Jermaine Johnson II

  • USC WR Drake London

I like these guys

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

These are the players who are quite possibly going to be available and I believe are great fits. I would be quite happy with these players.

  • Ohio State WR Chris Olave

  • Purdue EDGE George Karlaftis

  • Penn State EDGE Arnold Ebiketie

  • Boston College OL Zion Johnson

  • Georgia DT Devonte Wyatt

  • Florida CB Kaiir Elam

  • Penn State WR Jahan Dotson

These players are fine

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

These players aren’t ideal but are okay. Either they are better selected after trading back or perhaps they aren’t a perfect fit but could work out nicely.

  • Arkansas WR Treylon Burks

  • Washington CB Trent McDuffie

  • Iowa OL Tyler Linderbaum

  • Georgia WR George Pickens

1

1