2014 NFL mock draft: Cardinals select Derek Carr

With the 52nd pick in Pride Of Detroit's 2014 NFL mock draft, the Arizona Cardinals select Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr. Reno09 is serving as the Cardinals' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.

Initially, I was not planning on taking a QB early for the Cardinals. Carson Palmer is on board for another year, and there are plenty of other holes to fill for the Cardinals. However, I did not expect Derek Carr to fall this far. He may not be a top-10 talent, but if recent history has any say in this, we can expect to see a team in the top 10 reach for a talent like Carr anyway.

My goal was to bring in some help in the offensive trenches. With Ja'Wuan James and Morgan Moses off the board, I felt like the next level of OTs was a bit of a reach. Interior lineman Joel Bitonio crossed my mind as well.

Instead, I feel like Carr's upside and the importance of having a QB in this league far outweigh every other option. It seems unlikely that Carr slips this far, and the Cardinals would be licking their chops to see his name available at pick No. 52. Palmer had a decent year last year, but he isn't getting any younger, and the Cardinals will have to find a replacement for him soon enough. They can groom Carr behind Palmer and possibly give him the starting job after Palmer's contract is up in 2015.

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Check out the 2014 POD Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.