ESPN NFL Draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates collaborated on a three-round mock draft, and the Arizona Cardinals selected Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron in the first round.
Kiper and Yates alternated picks, so the draft unfolded differently than their individual mock ups. Kiper projected the Cardinals draft Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden with the No. 16 overall pick in his latest solo mock, but with Golden off the board in this exercise, he projected the Cardinals would turn to a defender.
“With Matthew Golden off the board, Barron is a guy who can play anywhere in your secondary and can help you in a lot of ways,” Kiper told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Tuesday.
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“He’s played slot corner. He’s played wide. He’s played safety. He’s done it all. Like his former teammate Matthew Golden, he ran great. There were people in the league telling me if he runs a 4.5 (40-yard dash), he’s a second-round pick. If he gets in the 4.45 range, he’s going to be a first. He ran better than that, a 4.3. He and Golden … really moved up a lot from where they were.”
Barron played five years at Texas, and last season, he set a career high with five interceptions and 11 passes defensed while playing all over. He spent most of his time out wide (679 of 971 snaps).
He measured 5-foot-11 and 194 pounds at the combine, and Kiper wrote he could give the Cardinals juice on the outside.
“Garrett Williams was terrific at slot corner last season, but the Cardinals could use a boost on the outside. This team allowed 7.3 yards per pass attempt last season, which ranked in the league’s bottom third. Barron is versatile, ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash at the combine and picked off five passes last season.”
Cardinals take guard Tyler Booker
In the second round, the Cardinals select Alabama guard Tyler Booker with the No. 47 pick, made by Yates.
Booker is a 6-foot-5, 321-pound lineman who made First-team All-SEC in 2024 and Second-team All-SEC in 2023. He has experience playing along both sides of the line and even got some run at left tackle last season.
He has been a popular mock draft pick for the Cardinals in the first round. Kiper alluded to a potential drop in his draft stock based on his combine performance, but he compared Booker to Orlando Brown Jr. in that sense, someone who fell a couple rounds and built a solid career.
“So at the end of the day, he will drop a little bit, maybe even more than a little bit because he was projected to be a mid-first-round pick,” Kiper said. “A lot of people had him going to Arizona in the middle of the first. So to me, Booker is a phone booth type of guard and he is fiery. … You’re getting in that boxing ring with him, you’re not coming out feeling too good.
“Tyler Booker’s fun to watch on tape because he just beats you up. And that’s the way he plays the game. Now, if we’re asking him to do a lot of movement and a lot of things like that, no. But in terms of the phone booth type of guard, he will destroy you. He’s a really good football player. … Like I said, go back to Orlando Brown. How did that work out? Worked out pretty well.”
With the Cardinals’ third-round pick, Kiper selected Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton.
The 6-foot-1 receiver ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the combine. At Maryland, Felton caught 96 passes for 1,124 yards last year, recording nine touchdowns.
Why Mel Kiper Jr. likes Matthew Golden if available for Cardinals
Kiper raved about Golden, who caught 58 passes for 987 yards last year at Texas. Kiper previously wrote Golden could help Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray both underneath and down the field, adding a dynamic playmaker alongside Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson and tight end Trey McBride.
“He gets open,” Kiper said. “When you see a guy like Golden getting open and finding ways and burst out of your break … that creates separation. It creates windows. It creates an opportunity to make plays after the catch.
“And at the end of the day, after the combine, running that 4.29, believe me he is solidly in the first round.”
The NFL Draft starts on April 24.
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