After adding one of the top offensive players earlier in the night, the Cardinals have now added an intriguing defensive prospect. The team has selected Missouri pass rusher Darius Robinson with the No. 27 pick.
While Marvin Harrison Jr. filled a glaring need for the Cardinals, so does Robinson. Arizona struggled to rush the passer last season, having seen J.J. Watt retire and Zach Allen defect to Denver in free agency.
The Cards did not do much on the edge, either, largely rolling with a low-cost crew during a rebuilding campaign. Robinson will give Jonathan Gannon more options outside.
Coming off the Senior Bowl, Robinson scheduled a whopping 20 pre-draft visits. He will join the Cardinals after a versatile career at Mizzou. The SEC program lined Robinson up across its formation, and he profiles as a power rusher as opposed to a player who will win consistently around the edge.
With the Cardinals rolling out a 3-4 defensive scheme in Gannon’s first season, that could make the 6-foot-5, 285-pound performer valuable as a down lineman potentially.
NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah likened Robinson’s profile to Arik Armstead coming out of Columbia; that certainly represents an intriguing comp. The inside/outside talent, who saw more time at defensive tackle in 2022, totaled 8.5 sacks and a Tigers-most 14 tackles for loss last season.
With this draft class not as deep at D-tackle compared to D-end, the Cardinals have an interesting prospect to mold. Robinson is going to a team without too much of note in the pass-rushing department.
The Cardinals’ 33 sacks last season ranked 30th in the NFL. Although the team used a second-round pick last year on BJ Ojulari, the cupboard is nearly bare beyond him. Career special-teamer Dennis Gardeck led the Cards with six sacks last season, as converted ILB Zaven Collins worked as a regular OLB starter. Robinson will be tasked with delivering immediate impact, as playing time will be available — perhaps at multiple positions.
In terms of first-round picks, this wraps the Deshaun Watson trade. The Cardinals acquired the third first-rounder from that 2022 blockbuster last year, moving from No. 3 to No. 12 to give the Texans rights to Will Anderson Jr.
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