NFL Draft: Redrafting the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft 29. Austin Hooper
Originally selected 81st overall (+52)
The Patriots actually had to forfeit their 30th-overall pick in this draft after they were caught cheating again. The specific details of what happened are iffy, but that’s what happened. As a result, the first round of this draft only had 31 picks and the Cardinals moved up a spot.
With their 29th pick, the Arizona Cardinals originally selected Robert Nkemdiche. This would end up being a pretty bad pick, as Nkemdiche would only stick around for a couple of years before being waived by the Cardinals.
That said, they’ll be happy with who they’re getting with their pick in the redraft.
Shifting over the offensive end, Arizona will have the chance to snag Austin Hooper pretty late in this draft. The main reason that Hooper fell so far is that most teams had bigger issues than the tight end spot. That said, this was one of the Cardinals’ needs and Hooper would have been a great pickup.
Hooper is another example of a player who took a while to get going but stepped into a big role at the NFL level. As one of the younger players in the 2016 NFL Draft, Hooper originally fell to the third round but has played as well as a first-rounder.
In the past few years, he has really rounded out into a strong tight end, making Pro Bowl appearances in 2018 and 2019. He would be huge for a Cardinals team that hasn’t had strong tight end play anytime recently.