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With the Philadelphia Eagles claiming this year's Super Bowl yesterday, it is officially draft season in the football world and there are plenty of possibilities for the Arizona Cardinals during draft season.
The team has needs across their defense and could also end up with some holes to fill on the offensive line.
However, a new mock draft has them going in a very different direction in the first round of the NFL Draft with a pick that would likely surprise many fans.
In his first mock draft following the Super Bowl, Fantasy Life's Thor Nystrom predicted the Cardinals would use the 16th pick in the draft to select Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III.
On the surface, this looks like a luxury pick the Cardinals can't really afford.
The team has major needs across their roster and just spent the fourth overall pick on Marvin Harrison Jr. a year ago.
However, the Cardinals do have some cap space to work with this offseason. Spotrac projects them to have $63.5 million to throw around in free agency.
If they can fill needs on the defensive line, a cornerback, and at linebacker with that cap space, then drafting Burden becomes an interesting option.
We have never really seen what Kyler Murray can do with elite weapons at his disposal.
The Cardinals tried to make it happen once when they traded for Hollywood Brown to pair him with DeAndre Hopkins back in 2022.
Unfortunately, the trio of Murray, Brown, and Hopkins only played one game together because of injuries and a Hopkins suspension.
Hopkins was released before the start of the following the season.
Giving Murray another threat to throw to next season could be what the offense needs to take that next step. If it isn't then it paints a pretty clear picture of Murray's ceiling as your starting quarterback.
Burden has proven he can be that threat. He put together a monster sophomore season in 2023, making 86 catches for 1212 yards and nine touchdowns.
His numbers took a hit this past season, but he still played well enough to earn All-SEC honors for a second consecutive season.
The Cardinals will need to take care of business in free agency first, but Burden could be a good fit if they fill enough other needs before the draft.
More must-reads:
- Micah Parsons trade winners, losers: Packers fleece Cowboys for All-Pro
- Jerry Jones again proves he shouldn't be making decisions for Cowboys
- The 'Most 1,000-rushing yard NFL seasons' quiz
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Predicting the standings for each NFL division
With the NFL season about to kick off, there's no better time to look ahead and predict how the division standings will shake out by season's end. This week, Yardbarker's NFL crew came together to do just that.
Cowboys land three-time Pro Bowler in Micah Parsons trade
It may be no consolation to Dallas Cowboys fans, but their team did land an outstanding defensive player as part of the stunning blockbuster that sent Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday. The Cowboys have traded Parsons to the Packers in exchange for a pair of first-round draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. While Clark is nowhere near the same caliber player as Parsons, he has been one of the top players at his position in the NFL for several years now. Clark spent nine seasons with the Packers after they drafted him in the first round out of UCLA in 2016. He became a full-time starter in 2017 and has started every game in which he has played since. Clark started all 17 games for Green Bay the past three seasons and has missed just one game in the last four years. He had a career-high 7.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss in 2023, which is when he made his third and most recent Pro Bowl. The 6-foot-3, 314-pound tackle also made the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2021. Almost all Cowboys fans would have preferred for their team to work out a long-term extension with Parsons. The tension between the two sides simply escalated to the point where a divorce became the most viable option. If the Cowboys felt they had no choice but to trade Parsons, they at least seem to have maximized the return. The future first-round picks will give them flexibility to build through trades and/or the draft. It should also soften the blow — even if only slightly — that they landed a 29-year-old player who has played like an elite defensive tackle throughout much of his career.
Taylor Townsend reveals how Jelena Ostapenko insulted her during post-match argument
Taylor Townsend claimed Jelena Ostapenko made insulting comments about her background and education after their heated U.S. Open match on Wednesday. Townsend beat Ostapenko 7-5, 6-1 during their second round match Wednesday, but the two players got into an argument during the traditional post-match congratulatory handshakes. Townsend and Ostapenko continued the argument at Ostapenko’s player bench before Townsend ultimately broke off to celebrate. Townsend was asked during her post-match interview what was said between her and Ostapenko. The American claimed Ostapenko had personally insulted her. “It’s competition. People get upset when they lose. Some people say bad things,” Townsend said. “She told me I have no class, I have no education, and to see what happens when we get outside the US. I’m looking forward to it. I beat her in Canada outside the U.S. … let’s see what else she has to say.” Townsend was certainly insulted by what Ostapenko told her. She even had the American crowd jeer Ostapenko as the Latvian left the court. Ostapenko has clashed with other players before, but most would agree that if Townsend correctly represented what she said, that undoubtedly crossed a line.
Report reveals Cowboys’ final contract offer to Micah Parsons
Micah Parsons may not have wanted to leave the Dallas Cowboys, but it sounds like the star pass-rusher has secured himself a significant raise by doing so. Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday in a stunning blockbuster deal. As part of the agreement, the Packers signed him to a 4-year, $188 million contract extension. The deal includes $136 million guaranteed. Parsons is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history in terms of both average annual salary and total guarantees. The $47 million average annual value on his new contract dwarfs the $41 million per year T.J. Watt got from the Pittsburgh Steelers and $40 million Myles Garrett got from the Cleveland Browns earlier this offseason. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Cowboys’ final offer to Parsons was for around the same annual salary as Watt and Garrett — $41 million or so per year. “Jerry Jones said when they had their negotiations with Micah Parsons they got to what he thought was an agreement, which was about $41 million or a little less per year in new money. He thought they were done,” Rapoport said. “The agents wanted to keep going. The Packers kept going. It is $47 million per year in new money on the extension. Micah Parsons’ agents did right by him. That is a $6 million-plus difference.” Jerry Jones has said publicly that he had a handshake agreement with Parsons in April but that Parsons’ agent torpedoed the deal. If that is true, that would mean Parsons had an offer for $40-41 million per year before both Watt and Garrett signed their deals, which would have reset the market. It would now be an understatement to say that Parsons reset the market with the Packers. Jones has gone into damage control mode by making some laughable claims about the trade, but there is no question Parsons is the big winner in the deal.
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