2012 NFL Mock Draft: Should Arizona Cardinals Take OT or OLB in First Round?

While Jim Harbaugh's San Francisco 49ers stole the show in the NFC West in 2011, the Arizona Cardinals quietly put together an impressive second half of the season that saw them win seven of their last nine games and finish 8-8 overall.

Now, with the 2012 NFL draft just round the corner, Arizona needs to start identifying the impact player it'll target at one of its two most pressing needs—outside linebacker and offensive tackle—that can help Arizona take the next step to possibly becoming a playoff contender in 2012.

Looking at Arizona's roster, it is pretty easy to see why a pass-rushing linebacker and offensive tackle are top needs for the Cardinals in this draft. 

Youngsters Sam Acho and O'Brien Schofield have shown they can provide the occasional pressure, but the Cardinals got very little from veterans Clark Haggans and Joey Porter at outside linebacker in 2011. Adding a player that can be the anchor rusher would instantly upgrade a defense that started to gel at the end of last season.

At No. 13, guys like Courtney Upshaw (Alabama), Melvin Ingram (South Carolina), Nick Perry (USC) and Whitney Mercilus (Illinois) all have a chance to be available.

However, if one of the top offensive tackles fall into the Cardinals' lap, it'd be hard to knock Arizona for pulling the trigger.

Left tackle Levi Brown struggled mightily to begin 2011 but settled down as the season wore on. Arizona could probably get by with him starting again there in 2012, although the Cardinals would need to re-structure the end of his outrageous rookie contract to keep him on the roster.

At right tackle, Jeremy Bridges had his fair share of forgettable performances early but also played better down the stretch. At 31 years old, Bridges seems far more likely to be replaced by a player such as Jonathan Martin (Stanford), Riley Reiff (Iowa) or Mike Adams (Ohio State) if the Cardinals decided to go the offensive tackle route in the first round.

In the mock draft below, we have the Cardinals taking South Carolina's Melvin Ingram, who is rocketing up boards as a 3-4 outside linebacker prospect. By the time April rolls around, Ingram might look like a steal at No. 13. We also have the top three offensive tackles (Matt Kalil, Reiff, Martin) off the board, so the decision becomes a touch easier. 

Overall, you have to say the Cardinals are headed in the right direction. But this is an important draft if they plan on challenging the 49ers in the NFC West next season and beyond.

Hitting on a prospect like they did last April with Patrick Peterson could make Arizona a very interesting team to watch in 2012.    

2012 NFL Mock Draft    

1.  Indianapolis Colts—Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

2.  Washington Redskins—Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor (via trade with St. Louis Rams)  

3.  Minnesota Vikings—Matt Kalil, OT, USC

4.  Cleveland Browns—Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU

5.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers—Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

6.  St. Louis Rams—Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa (via trade with Washington Redskins)

7.  Jacksonville Jaguars—Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

8.  Carolina Panthers—Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina

9.  Miami Dolphins—Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford

10.  Buffalo Bills—Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

11.  Kansas City Chiefs—Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

12.  Seattle Seahawks—Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

13.  Arizona Cardinals—Melvin Ingram, DE/OLB, South Carolina

14.  Dallas Cowboys—Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

15.  Philadelphia Eagles—Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

16.  New York Jets—Nick Perry, OLB, USC

17.  Cincinnati Bengals—Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

18.  San Diego Chargers—David DeCastro, OG, Stanford

19.  Chicago Bears—Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State

20.  Tennessee Titans—Zach Brown, OLB, UNC

21.  Cincinnati Bengals—Lamar Miller, RB, Miami

22.  Cleveland Browns—Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame

23.  Detroit Lions—Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska

24.  Pittsburgh Steelers—Cordy Glenn, OL, Georgia

25.  Denver Broncos—Devon Still, DL, Penn State

26.  Houston Texans—Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis

27.  New England Patriots—Mark Barron, S, Alabama

28.  Green Bay Packers—Whitney Mercilus, DE/OLB, Illinois

29.  Baltimore Ravens—Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State

30.  San Francisco 49ers—Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers

31.  New England Patriots—Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin

32.  New York Giants—Dont'a Hightower, LB, Alabama