M’m! M’m! Good! Cardinals Mock!

How excited would you be with this draft?

The 2025 NFL Draft commences from Lambeau Field, Wisconsin, three weeks from today, baby!

Which in this week’s Thursday mock, still beaming about the Cardinals’ acquisition of DE Calias Campbell, I am now feeling a tenacious hunger to slurp up a double dose of Campbells this week.

Now, I would still be elated to see the Cardinals select Michigan’s Kenneth Walker, my favorite nose tackle and defensive tone setter in this draft, I am struggling with what the Cardinals’ plans are at inside linebacker.

Before going to bed last night, I saw this tweet regarding 2025 starters on defense from Johnny Venerable:

I think this tweet was nagging at me all night. Because if this is indeed JG’s and Nick Rallis’ plan, I think it’s inherently flawed. The three veteran players whom I believe do not belong as starters for the team’s 1st string defense are:

1. Mack Wilson Sr. at MIKE. First of all, if the Cardinals are serious about improving the poor coverage issues they had at the inside linebacker positions, then Mack Wilson Sr. is not the MIKE the team needs. One statistic that rules him out is his 4.71 speed. What Mack is great at is blitzing from all angles of the defense. Therefore, he can help the team most as nickel LB. His run defense (68.5) was solid last season while collecting 75 tackles (44 solo), but his tackling (60.7) was inconsistent because of a 13.9% missed tackle percentage. His pass coverage (56.8) was below average.

Maybe I have been incorrect in assuming that the Cardinals signed Akeem Davis-Gaither to a 2-year $10M contract with $5m guaranteed to be the new MIKE. While AKD played fairly well as the Bengals’ starting MIKE the last several games of the season, his 2025 grades on 535 defensive snaps are underwhelming: Overall: 53.0; Run defense: 59.0; Tackling: 60.6; Coverage: 57.5. He does however seem to have good ball hawking instincts in pass coverage over the middle. But is he a bona fide starting MIKE linebacker? He runs a 4.65.

2. Sean Murphy-Bunting at starting RCB. Please no. Elijah Jones is more talented. Starling Thomas V is more talented. Max Melton is more talented. Kei’Trel Clark is more of a dawg.

3. Jalen Thompson as starting FS. This one is tough because of JT’s solid history with the Cardinals, but he is an above average SS who does not have the range and ball hawking instincts to be a reliable force at FS. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is by far the most gifted FS on the roster.

Athleticism Grades (NextGen stats) —- Size —- 40 time:

• Jihaad Campbell —- 82 —- 6’3” 235 —- 4.52
• Akeem Davis-Gather —- 72 —- 6’2” 224 —- 4.65
• Mack Wilson Sr. —- 70 —- 6’1” 240 —- 4.71

My NFL player comp for Jihaad Campbell is Fred Warner. And with the 49ers missing out on re-signing Dre Greenlaw, it would not at all be...