GOOD MORNING

Happy Thursday! We’ll get to the latest Cardinals mock drafts in a minute, but ladies and gentlemen, WELCOME TO MARCH MADNESS! If you’re reading this and it’s before 9 a.m., you still have time to finish your bracket! But, let’s be honest … I agonize every year in comparing strength of schedule, records against ranked opponents, records over the last 10 games, etc, and by Friday my bracket is generally busted. So goes March.

Truly looking forward to this weekend, and make sure you don’t miss tomorrow’s Daily, because it’s going to be jam-packed with basketball (Wildcats NCAA Tourney preview) and hockey (Sun Devils NCHC Tourney preview). What a great time of year.

Finally, I just have to say I was absolutely stunned by the results of yesterday’s email poll regarding the new food items at Chase Field. Leah and I agree — we demand justice for S’mores nachos! I honestly thought that option was going to run away with it. If you want to take our daily poll, sign up to have this very post delivered straight to you every morning!

On to the show!

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How Have the Cardinals’ Draft Needs Shifted?

It’s been a little over two weeks since I last took a temperature check on all of the various Cardinals mock drafts floating around.

My, how things have changed in a hurry.

Most of the post-free agency mock drafts out there have changed on who the Cardinals are likely to select 16th overall at the NFL Draft on April 24, and for good reason: Arizona’s biggest needs following the conclusion of the 2024 season revolved around the pass rush and defensive line, but free agent acquisitions have shored that position up, thanks in part to the arrival of Josh Sweat and Dalvin Tomlinson. Those two names alone offer a little more flexibility to take a shot, especially in the middle of the first round, where all of the “sure things” have already been selected.

O-Line Help Coming For Murray and Conner?

O-Line Help Coming for Murray and Conner? With added flexibility on defense, the Cardinals have a chance to get creative with their middle-round pick. Our very own Fran Duffy has Arizona pivoting from an edge pick to the offensive line, and he’s not alone. Draft experts from CBS Sports and NFL.com also have the Cardinals shoring up their offensive line, while ESPN and The Sporting News have shifted to another position on defense. Here’s how the latest round of mock drafts have shook out:

• Fran Duffy, ALLCITY – OL Kelvin Banks Jr, Texas
• Mel Kiper, ESPN – CB Will Johnson, Michigan
• Chris Trapasso, CBS Sports – IOL Donovan Jackson, Ohio State
• Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com – IOL Grey Zabel, North Dakota State
• Andrew Erickson, FantasyPros – OL Kelvin Banks Jr, Texas
• Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News – CB Will Johnson, Michigan
• Rob Rang, Fox Sports – EDGE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M

Fran Duffy’s take: The Cardinals are a tough spot here, because I don’t think a lot of the top players on the board really match their biggest areas of need, and the top players on the board at their positions of need don’t really make sense for them. So who is available that could play relatively early, give them an influx of talent, and fits the makeup that they look for?

I was THIS close to giving them linebacker Jihaad Campbell, but does that team dare go back down that rabbit hole again with an off-ball linebacker in the top 25, even with a new regime? GM Monti Ossenfort has been a stickler for drafting priority positions, and so I think this comes down to selecting the top receiver off the board for the second straight season or going to the trenches. Here, I think they draft Banks and either see if he can play right tackle or move Paris Johnson back to the right side and play Banks at his natural spot on the blind side. Get your best five blockers on the field.

Take a deeper dive: If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out ​Duffy’s Diehard Draft Guide​, and nerd out a little bit. It’s pretty darn awesome.

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Musings From Around (and Sometimes Beyond) The Valley

Feeling Bullish: They did it! The Suns have won two straight for the first time since late January, taking down the Bulls 127-121 last night. Phoenix is now tied with Dallas for the final postseason play-in spot (!!!), but don’t bust out the champaign just yet, as the Suns have a brutal schedule coming up, beginning with the 56-12 Cavs on Friday.

Postseason Ball: The Arizona women’s basketball team opens the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT), hosting Northern Arizona at McKale Center tonight at 6 pm. The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed in the postseason tourney, and a win would mark the sixth 20-win season for coach Adia Barnes.

Vaulting to the Top: The ASU women’s gymnastics team had four student-athletes named to the All-Big 12 Team: Sarah Clark (bars), Jada Mangahas (vault), Kimberly Smith (all-around) and Emily White (floor, all-around). This is the first all-conference honor for all four, and marks the first time since 2021 that ASU has four-or-more conference honorees.

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Tip of the Hat

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