2026 Arizona Cardinals Mock Draft: Cardinals spend early picks on both sides of the line

The 2025 NFL season has come to a close, leaving us ready to start the NFL draft process.

The Cardinals, generally speaking, struggled on both sides of the ball last season. Injuries played a role in that, especially on offense, but playmakers and depth are needed across the board.

There's a major question at QB, but in this draft class, I don't believe the Cardinals will make a move to address it. Instead, they'll look to shore up other problem areas, including on the offensive and defensive lines, along with adding depth to thinner areas of their roster.

In this mock draft, we take a look at a full seven round Arizona Cardinals mock draft based on their current pick selections, with no trades and no information on how free agency shakes out.

Let's get to it!

Arizona Cardinals Mock Draft Picks

• Round 1, Pick 3: Reuben Bain, Jr., EDGE, Miami (FL)

• Round 2, Pick 34: Emmanuel Pregnon, OG, Oregon

• Round 3, Pick 65: Keionte Scott, CB, Miami (FL)

• Round 4, Pick 104: Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State

• Round 5, Pick 141: Aaron Anderson, WR, LSU

• Round 6, Pick 181: Jack Kelly, LB, BYU

• Round 7, Pick 217: DeMonte Capehart, DT, Clemson

Draft Analysis

The Cardinals looked a lot better on paper for our fantasy purposes with Jacoby Brissett at QB in the second half of the season, but most of that was in garbage time when they were heavily trailing. The defense was atrocious, and the offense could not run the football with their top two RBs out for the season with injuries.

Reuben Bain, Jr., brings instant impact to help stabilize the defensive line, and fellow Hurricane Keionte Scott's addition to the back end gives the Cardinals a better chance at coming back to the middle of the pack against the pass.

With Emmanuel Pregnon and the return of the running backs, the run game should be productive in 2026 to help balance out the offensive game plans.

Fantasy Impacts

There are no immediate fantasy impacts for the 2026 redraft season or for best ball unless you're in an IDP league.

For dynasty, Kaytron Allen could be a late-round flier pick at RB, given James Conner is out of contract after the 2026 season (if not a cut or trade candidate during the season). Trey Benson is likely the RB1 in that scenario, but this would put Kaytron Allen as the likely RB2. Aaron Anderson also has a chance to start as the WR3 in an offense that won't really target him, but could move up to the WR2 if they don't extend Michael Wilson. He's also in late-round consideration for WR-needy teams.

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