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2013 NFL Mock Draft: Is Mike Glennon the best quarterback option for the Cardinals?

Many mock drafts have Arizona taking a quarterback, but is that the right decision? And which QB is the best fit?

By Kenneth Arthur
Streeter Lecka

The Arizona Cardinals will have some important decisions to make during the offseason, but none may be more important than what head coach Bruce Arians decides to do at quarterback. The Cards were one of the worst teams in the NFL at QB in 2012 and may opt to move on from Kevin Kolb and John Skelton, but does that necessarily mean that Arizona needs to draft one? If Alex Smith is granted free agency, he gives the Cards one more possibility, but there could also be other free agent options such as Matt Cassel, Carson Palmer, or Michael Vick if they are released from their respective teams.

For more on the Arizona Cardinals and their 2013 NFL Draft needs, go to Revenge of the Birds.

However, Arizona must still have a plan of action at the position should they not find an option in free agency, through trade, or the unlikely event that they stay in-house. The alternative option is, of course, the NFL draft.

Arizona is picking seventh in the 2013 NFL draft in April, and there have been several names mocked to the Cards over the past few weeks. Matt Barkley, Geno Smith, and Tyler Wilson among them, but Dane Brugler of CBS Sports added another name into the hat in his most recent mock draft, projecting Mike Glennon of NC State to Arizona:

The Cardinals need help in a lot of areas on offense, most notably at quarterback and offensive tackle. For his downfield attacking offense, new head coach Bruce Arians wants a strong-armed quarterback and will likely value Glennon's velocity and arm talent over some other teams.

No QB in this class has so far stood out among the rest, though Smith is the player most often projected to go first in that group. However, many of the quarterbacks aren't even consistently projected to go in the first round, and in his last mock draft Brugler had Tyler Wilson going to Arizona. He doesn't even have Wilson going in the first round at all anymore.

It might actually be the best route for Arizona to draft an offensive lineman, as they had one of the worst units in the NFL last year, and wait to see what QBs inevitably slide into the 2nd round. They might still get Glennon or Wilson at that point.