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2015 NFL Mock Draft: Arizona Cardinals Select OLB Shaq Thompson at No. 24

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

With the No. 24 pick in the DBN 2015 NFL Mock Draft, the Arizona Cardinals select...

Shaq Thompson, OLB, Washington

The selection and write-up were made by a2342432a:

The NFL has ever changing ways throughout the years on what is going to succeed. Nowadays, versatility is gaining more importance, to help stop teams like the power heavy Seahawks or the Airborne Broncos. Now Shaq Thompson is a linebacker, a safety, he's a guy you can put all over the field, because he's a big guy who can run and is very fluid with his movements. Not much more you can ask from a defensive player, especially. He has all the tools to be a playmaker that the offense can't just simply ignore, in a 3-4 scheme, he might not be the prototypical OLB you're looking for, he's a smaller guy (6'1 230), but he has the aggressiveness and agility to make up for his smaller frame. Let's not forget that he is also great on special teams, so if the coaching staff feels he isn't quite ready, he can still contribute.

His rookie season, if the coaching staff helps him learn more of the nuances better, he can move everywhere around the field. With John Abraham gone, he will have an open spot to fill, but come time when the Cardinals are down, and the opposing team is running the ball, switch Mathieu (FS) out for Thompson and put another big body on the field at OLB, and see if the running defense improves even better from being elite last year. Not to mention he can come in for Andre Ellington in goal line situations and give a big push through the line. He has experience playing tailback in college. In the end he plays three different positions in college, and I believe he can continue to in the NFL and succeed.

While Thompson is one of the more intriguing players in the draft, ultimately, the team that drafts him is going to need a definitive position for him. Is he an outside linebacker? A safety? A running back? Do you have the luxury of rotating him in to different spots as a rookie on a defense that already has some good talent? Would you want to take reps away from your true running backs in favor of a defensive player?

The Carolina Panthers are up next, led by PaduaDSP.

2015 DBN Community Mock Draft Results (so far)

Pick Team Player Position School Username
1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jameis Winston QB Florida State BuenosAires_Dawg
2 Tennessee Titans Marcus Mariota
QB
Oregon
scott tizzle
3 Jacksonville Jaguars Vic Beasley
DE/OLB
Clemson
Legoman0721
4 Oakland Raiders Amari Cooper
WR
Alabama
makeaplay59
5 Washington Redskins Leonard Williams
DE
USC
michael.hamper
6 New York Jets Dante Fowler
OLB
Florida
aszabo1
7 Chicago Bears Kevin White
WR
West Virginia
Barnestorm
8 Atlanta Falcons Melvin Gordon
RB
Wisconsin
OhioCityBrownsBeliever
9 New York Giants Randy Gregory
DE
Nebraska
Bizono
10 St. Louis Rams DeVante Parker
WR
Louisville
Ted Washington's Belly
11 Minnesota Vikings Trae Waynes
CB
Michigan St.
MConley17
12 Cleveland Browns Bud Dupree
OLB
Kentucky
Adam Rice
13 New Orleans Saints Shane Ray
DE/OLB
Missouri
TuckJob
14 Miami Dolphins Arik Armstead
DT
Oregon
Brocolis154033
15 San Francisco 49ers Brandon Scherff
OL
Iowa
Manly and Loving It
16 Houston Texans Brett Hundley
QB
UCLA
troy145
17 San Diego Chargers Malcom Brown
DT
Texas
Crawford_T
18 Kansas City Chiefs Ereck Flowers
OT
Miami
JamesPowell
19 Cleveland Browns Danny Shelton
NT
Washington
Royce Groff
20 Philadelphia Eagles La'el Collins
OT
LSU
Matt Wood
21 Cincinnati Bengals Dorial Green-Beckham
WR
Missouri
styrofoamboots
22 Pittsburgh Steelers Landon Collins
SS
Alabama
Marquess of Rockingham
23 Detroit Lions Andrus Peat
OT
Stanford
tmptplayer
24 Arizona Cardinals Shaq Thompson
OLB
Washington
a2342432a
25 Carolina Panthers


PaduaDSP
26 Baltimore Ravens


unoservix
27 Dallas Cowboys


Twilightcall06
28 Denver Broncos


Maverick Hunter X
29 Indianapolis Colts


Mudville
30 Green Bay Packers


syndrome
31 New Orleans Saints


pt_999
32 New England Patriots


stravaille