Cardinals add to secondary, select CB/S Bethel with second of sixth round picks

The Cardinals addressed their offensive line in the fourth and fifth rounds. They immediately jumped back to their secondary with the first of their sixth round picks, taking cornerback Justin Bethel out of Presbyterian.

Bethel was a four-year starter at Presbyterian, and is well known for his YouTube video where he dead leaped 60 inches!

Talk about athletic!

At 6’0”, 200 lbs, Bethel is equally strong against the run and the pass. He uses his size and weight to his advantage when making tackles and playing man-to-man on the line of scrimmage.

The one knock against Bethel is the level of competition he faced at a small school like Presbyterian, and how he will take to the transition to the NFL.

There’s been some debate as to whether Bethel will play cornerback or safety, which has him confused as well.

“I’ve been hearing a lot of safety, but I’ve been hearing a lot of corner,” Bethel said. “I’m not really sure.”

Another area Bethel excels at is on special teams. Bethel has nine blocked kicks in his career. Considering how many blocked kicks the Cardinals had last season, especially toward the end of the season, Bethel should fit right in.

Coming from a small school, and watching pick after pick go past him, Bethel remained confident that he would be chosen by a team.

Luckily for him it’s the Cardinals.

“I wasn’t thinking about it too much,” Bethel said. “I just wanted to get to a team and show them what I got and get ready to start playing.”