The Arizona Cardinals are up next in our 2026 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft.
It’s all about rebuild in Arizona. They’ve got a new coach, they’ll have a new quarterback, and they’ve got a long ways to go if they’re going to compete with an impressive NFC West division.
Employed to help them in our community mock is commenter enelsonii, who is acting as Cardinals general manager in this mock draft .
As a reminder, here are the first two picks in our POD Community Mock:
With the third pick in the Pride
of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Arizona Cardinals have selected David Bailey, edge defender out of Texas Tech.
Here’s enelsonii explaining the pick:
I went back and forth on this pick, with consideration given to Francis Mauigoa, Jeremiyah Love, and Caleb Downs.
I chose Bailey for the following reasons, he is a very athletic, elite speed-to-power conversion, and great bull rush skills make him a nightmare to block for less athletic tackles.
At 6-foot-4 and 251 pounds, arm length of 33.75 inches and wingspan of 79.75 inches, there is little space that he cannot reach, particularly with his speed and agility. He ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in February, and moved fluidly through drills. He has the ability to contain gaps and stop the run, and his NFL comps are Jared Verse, Brian Burns and Nik Bonitto. That is pretty exclusive company.
He is rated as high as the number 1 prospect in the draft, and there is total consensus that he is the top-rated edge in the draft. The primary concerns appear to be that he gets locked up once blocked and doesn’t have the superior strength to get off of a block, and there are questions about his down-to-down performance. He will need to be coached up in this regard, but he pairs very well with Josh Sweat in Arizona. The Cardinals will have bookend edge pressure that is difficult to match, something they urgently need as they had 30 sacks last year, ranking 28th in that department.
Let’s hear what you think of the pick! Vote in the poll below, and share your broader thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of this page.
