The Blues' recruiting team made the trip to Geraldton recently to interview Cripps' family, and the club is known to be keen on securing another inside midfielder.
After his poor testing at the NAB AFL Draft Combine, some clubs believed Cripps could drop out of the first 25 selections but that now appears unlikely for the All Australian.
He may push out fellow West Australian Cameron McCarthy from the spot at the Blues, with McCarthy a chance to reach Fremantle's No.17 selection.
Geelong, the Sydney Swans and St Kilda are also understood to be fans of the big-bodied Cripps.
Clubs mostly hit the Gold Coast on Wednesday to prepare for Thursday's NAB AFL Draft, but unlike recent years, clubs still cannot get a strong read on who is headed where.
The Western Bulldogs have heavily discussed both Marcus Bontempelli and James Aish, while Gold Coast will also weigh up Aish against Kade Kolodjashnij if both are available at pick five.
Collingwood is also thought likely to toss up between Aish and Matt Scharenberg if both remain, with the Brisbane Lions likely to grab whichever of the pair who gets through.
It is believed a number of clubs in the top bracket still haven't completely made their final call if they were faced with certain possibilities.
AFTER releasing the Phantom Draft on Tuesday night, AFL.com.au's Callum Twomey has slightly tweaked a few players and positions ahead of the final call tonight.
UPDATED PHANTOM DRAFT
1. Greater Western Sydney - Tom Boyd
2. Greater Western Sydney - Josh Kelly
3. St Kilda - Jack Billings
4. Western Bulldogs - Marcus Bontempelli
5. Gold Coast - Kade Kolodjashnij
6. Collingwood - Matt Scharenberg
7. Brisbane Lions - James Aish
8. North Melbourne - Luke McDonald
9. Melbourne - Christian Salem
10. Collingwood - Nathan Freeman
11. West Coast - Dom Sheed
12. Richmond - Ben Lennon
13. Carlton - Patrick Cripps
14. GWS - Lewis Taylor
15. Sydney Swans - Tom Cutler
16. Geelong - Blake Acres
17. Fremantle - Cameron McCarthy
18. St Kilda - Luke Dunstan
19. St Kilda - Billy Hartung
20. Gold Coast - Zak Jones
21. Port Adelaide - Trent Dumont
22. Brisbane Lions - Michael Apeness
23. Adelaide - Matt Crouch
24. Hawthorn - George Hewett
25. Brisbane Lions - Darcy Gardiner
26. Essendon - Zach Merrett
27. Gold Coast - Jake Kolodjashnij
28. Brisbane Lions - Daniel McStay
29. GWS - Rory Lobb
30. North Melbourne - Jarman Impey
