For anyone who wants to predict the Cardinals’ top target “Plan A” in the 1st round of the 2025 NFL Draft, a great place to start is to check out the team’s Top 30 visits.
2023 —- Paris Johnson Jr., T, Ohio St. *** Top 30 visit ***
2024 —- Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio St. *** Top 30 visit ***
2025 —- Will Johnson, CB, Michigan or Shemar Stewart, ED, Texas A&M *** Top 30 visits”
One may be apt to believe that at this point Will Johnson and Shemar Stewart are the leaders in the clubhouse.
ESPN’s Rankings and Evals, per Matt Miller:
2025 NFL draft rankings: Matt Miller’s top 50 prospects - ESPN
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 194
NFL teams looking for the nextPat Surtain II will love Johnson. He has prototypical size and speed, as well as excellent ball skills. He grabbed two interceptions this past season — both of which were returned for touchdowns. Despite battling throughinjury, Johnson allowed only one completion of more than 20 yards in the six games he played and is rarely thrown at. He has the talent and traits to be a great NFL cornerback right out of the gate. Johnson did not work out at the combine anddidn’t participate at Michigan’s pro day on Friday due to a minor hamstring injury. He plans to hold a private workout for teams on April 14.
Why the Cardinals would select Will Johnson at #16: Johnson has elite traits as a perimeter zone defender. JG and Nick Rallis played zone coverage more than 60% of the snaps last year and they would like to be more prolific at playing zones so that they can increase their use of zone coverages.
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 267
Defensive line coaches will be in love with Stewart’s upside when they look at his film. His frame provides positional and alignment versatility, but his quickness and power off the ball should have them thinking about ways to get him splitting gaps and getting after quarterbacks. He had only 1.5 sacks in 2024 while working in a heavy rotation, but his 25 pressures show how much impact he can make.
Scouts wanted to see Stewart’s potential during combine workouts, and heanswered the call. Down 14 pounds from his Senior Bowl weight, Stewart ran a 4.59 40, jumped 40 inches in the vertical and 10-foot-11 in the broad jump. Those numbers show elite explosiveness and traits that a good defensive line coach can unlock.
Why the Cardinals would select Shamar Stewart as #16:
Not only is Shemar Stewart’s RAS off the charts, his positional inside/outside versatility is also rare:
2024 Snaps:
A Gap —- 8
B Gap —- 22
Over Tackle —- 117
Outside Tackle —- 371
Off Ball —- 3
“We’re a team that is going to value alignment versatility, someone who can play up and down the line.”
Monti’s job description here seems tailor-made for Shemar Stewart, doesn’t it?
Plan B: (if Will Johnson and Shemar Stewart are off the board)
Monti is apt to try to trade down from pick #16 with the thought of taking one of the Ohio St. offensive linemen:
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 317
When I began evaluating players, an NFL offensive line coach told me to look at recovery agility for offensive tackles. Their ability to regain leverage and position after being beaten is key, he said. Simmons has that, moving and sliding with quick feet. The way he gets out in space in the run game is the best in the class, too. He’s electric on the move and arrives at the defender with powerful hands. Unfortunately, he was lost for the season in mid-October with atorn left patellar tendon, but Simmons is one of my favorite tackle prospects and would have been in play for OT1 before the injury.
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 315
After missing the first three games of 2024 with an ankle injury, Jackson started at left guard before sliding to tackle in mid-October when Josh Simmons was sidelined for the season. Despite a rough outing against Abdul Carterin early November, Jackson quickly acclimated to tackle and played at a high level. He didn’t allow a sack in eight straight contests to close the season — including games against elite pass rushers fromTennessee,Oregon,Michigan andTexas. He’s likely a guard in the NFL, but Jackson’s versatility has no doubt caught the eye of scouts.
One of the main reasons why the Cardinals could feel good about trading down is that even if Josh Simmons gets selected in the interim, they would feel very happy to insert Donovan Jackson at LG right next to his Buckeye pal Paris Johnson Jr. at LT. Then, Evan Brown, Isaiah Adams and Jon Gaines II can compete for the starting RG position.
The Cardinals’ interest in Donovan Jackson could be one of the main reasons why Monti has not signed another starting caliber guard in free agency.
Of course, Monti has another few weeks to arrange for more T30 visits, but for now it appears the top 2 are Will Johnson and Shemar Stewart.
It’s quite possible that Monti may not schedule T30 visits for Josh Simmons and Donovan Jackson because (a) they may not want to tip their hand to the rest of the NFL teams about their interest in them and (b) Justin Frye’s evaluations of them are as good as it gets. That could mean that Zoom calls with Simmons and Jackson should suffice.
If the Cardinals do stay at #16 and pick a defensive player, it’s quite possible that they could make a strong effort to try to trade back for Donovan Jackson, should he be available on Day 2.
ROTB Polls:
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On a scale of 10, how excited would you be to see the Cardinals select CB Will Johnson of Michigan at pick #16?
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On a scale of 10, how excited would you be to see the Cardinal select ED Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M at pick #16?
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If the Cardinals’ top 2 targets are off the board at #16, and their 3rd and 4th top targets are Josh Simmons and Donovan Jackson (in that order or flip-flopped), then do you favor them trading down?
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If the Cardinals have their choice of T Josh Simmons and G Donovan Jackson, which Buckeye would you prefer?
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Overall, if this is essentially the Cardinals’ 2025 NFL Draft plan, would you approve of it?
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