Final Mock Draft Roundup: Where Louisville's Top NFL Prospects are Projected to Land
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A key facet of the college football offseason is just around the corner, as the 2023 NFL Draft is now just one day away. 16 Cardinals are hoping to hear their name called on draft night, highlighted by linebacker Yasir Abdullah, defensive end YaYa Diaby and cornerback Kei'Trel Clark.
With the draft on our doorstep, scheduled to begin on Thursday, Apr. 27 at 8:00 p.m. EST, mock draft season continues to be in full swing. Many of Louisville's top NFL prospects have found themselves on a wide variety of big boards and mock drafts alike.
With outlets beginning to publish some of their final mocks of the draft season, where are they being projected to go? Take a look below:
ESPN
When you think of NFL mock drafts, the two people that usually come to mind first for most people are Mel Kiper, Jr. and Todd McShay. Both recently took place in an exercise where they played GM and drafted against each other in a three-round mock. In it, Kiper picked not one, but two Cardinals to go in the third round, selecting Abdullah with the No. 75 overall pick held by the Atlanta Falcons and picking Diaby with the No. 101 pick belonging to the San Francisco 49ers.
While the Kiper/McShay mock only goes three rounds deep, Matt Miller's mock draft goes the distance. He has Diaby as the first former Cardinals off the board, going in the third round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 82 overall. Clark goes in the next round with pick No. 133 held by the Chicago Bears, and Abdullah gets selected in the round behind him by the Dallas Cowboys at No. 169 overall.
CBS Sports
Over the last week, the folks over at CBS Sports have released not one, not two, but three seven-round mock drafts. If there's one thing that Chris Trapasso, Josh Edwards and Ryan Wilson can agree on, it's the order of Louisville's top three prospects in this draft class.
The consensus is that Diaby goes first, with Wilson the highest on him and placing him in the third round to the Green Bay Packers with pick No. 78. Trapasso also has him as a third-rounder, this time with pick No. 97 to the Washington Commanders, and Edwards slots him as a fourth-rounder to the New England Patriots at No. 135 overall.
The trio also believes Clark will be the second former Cardinals off the board. Wilson has him going to the Denver Broncos in the fourth round at No. 108, with Trapasso and Edwards projecting him in the fifth round to the Detroit Lions at No. 152 overall and Green Bay Packers at No. 170 overall, respectively.
Lastly, they all agree that Abdullah will be third Louisville player to be picked up. Wilson, again, has him going the highest at No. 124 overall in the fourth round to the Baltimore Ravens. Edwards and Trapasso both see him going in the sixth round, with the latter projecting it be by the New England Patriots with pick No. 210 and the former saying that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select him at No. 179 overall.
Of note, Trapasso has two more former Louisville players listed on his mock draft, both of which coming in the seventh round. He believes that quarterback Malik Cunningham will go to the Washington Commanders at No. 233 overall, while tight end Marshon Ford gets picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 250 overall.
The Athletic
As always, Dane Brugler has provided a wealth of knowledge this draft season between his annual 'The Beast' draft guide, to his seven-round mock where he breaks down almost every pick. He also sees Diaby as a top-100 pick, going to the Cleveland Browns in the third round at No. 98 overall. Abdullah comes off the board in the fifth round to the Carolina Panthers with pick No. 145, and Clark is projected to be a sixth round selection at No. 180 overall to the Arizona Cardinals.
NFL Network
Who better to read a mock draft from than by someone who works for the actual NFL? Chad Reuter recently published his own seven-round mock, and he has a pair of Cardinals going in the fourth round. Clark is the first off the board and head to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 113 overall, while Diaby is projected to go later in the round to the Jacksonville Jaguars with pick No. 127. Reuter is also the highest on running back Tiyon Evans, tabbing him as a sixth round selection to the Detroit Lions at No. 194 overall. He rounds out his mock with Abdullah dropping to the seventh round and being picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers with pick No. 241.
Pro Football Network
Pro Football Network recently gave us a double dose of updated seven-round mocks, this time coming from Cam Mellor and Ian Valentino. Both are in agreement that Clark will be the first Cardinal drafted and off the the board in the fourth round, with Valentino projecting him to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 109 overall and Mellor placing him at No. 132 overall to the Carolina Panthers.
After that, things go in completely different directions. Valentino has just one more Cardinal in his mock in Abdullah, also placing him in the fourth round round, but this time to the Los Angeles Chargers with pick No. 125.
As for Mellor? He has three more Cards behind Clark, but Abdullah is not one of them. Diaby is the next one mocked, going No. 174 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in the fifth round. This mock is where both Cunningham and Ford are placed the highest, with Cunningham projected to get picked up in the sixth round by the Arizona Cardinals with pick No. 213, and the Chiefs trading up in the seventh round to grab Ford at No. 238 overall.
Sporting News
Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer has made a few tweaks to his seven-round mock in recent weeks, but strangely enough, the five Cardinals listed in his mock have not changed since our last update. He has Abdullah and Clark slotted as sixth round picks, with the former going to the Tennessee Titans at pick No. 186 and the latter projected to the Baltimore Ravens at pick No. 199.
Iyer's mock draft has the seventh round kicking off with back-to-back Cardinals being drafted. Cunningham is projected to go to the Chicago Bears with pick No. 218, with Diaby getting picked up right behind him at No. 219 to the Philadelphia Eagles. Finally, Iyer places Evans at No. 231 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Draft Countdown
Shane Hallam over at Draft Countdown has regularly updated his mocks to follow recent trends, news and rumors, and is now on his Mock Draft 12.0. Both Diaby and Abdullah have climbed his draft boards, with the latter going in the fifth round to the Tennessee Titans with pick No. 147 and the former getting picked up in the third round by the Cleveland Browns with pick No. 98. After not having Clark in any recent mocks, he finally included him in the most recent update, projecting him to the Los Angeles Rams with pick No. 176 in the fifth round.
(Photo of YaYa Diaby: Bob DeChiara - USA TODAY Sports)
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