The Arizona Cardinals are in a great spot as we head toward the 2023 NFL Draft. Arizona landed the No. 3 overall pick, which has ended up being quite valuable.
Under a new regime, general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon are in a position to land an impact player, likely on the defensive side of the ball. If they want to add even more assets, they should find no difficulties in trading back and collecting more draft picks.
With the Chicago Bears trading the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers, the Cardinals now own the most sought-after draft pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers and Houston Texans, who will pick second, are both projected to select quarterbacks.
With Kyler Murray signing a massive contract extension last year, the Cardinals will not be in the market for a quarterback. Any team that is looking to select a quarterback will be making a call to Ossenfort and the Cardinals’ front office to get in line.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there is no shortage of suitors for the third pick. He shared on Monday that at least six teams have called the Cardinals, inquiring about the possibility of moving up in the draft.
Arizona is slated to have eight selections in the 2023 NFL Draft. Given the state of their roster, as they have arguably the worst one in the league right now, adding more draft picks would be ideal.
Based on other teams that have been linked to quarterbacks throughout the offseason, there are a few teams it is easy to hypothesize called the Cardinals. The Indianapolis Colts, who pick 4th, would make a lot of sense as they want to ensure they get at least one of the top three quarterbacks. Sticking at No. 4 could be very risky unless they plan to make a run at Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens after the draft.
Other teams within the top 10, such as the Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons, could make a move for a quarterback. Right outside the top 10, the Tennessee Titans would make sense if they are ready to move on from Ryan Tannehill. Further down the board, the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Ravens could all look to leap the board.
If the Cardinals are going to trade down, they likely want to remain as high in the draft order as possible. If they drop down too far, they would be passing on the chance to add an impact defender, such as Will Anderson or Jalen Carter, to their defense. That is something Arizona’s brain trust would certainly like to avoid as a foundational building block on that side of the ball would be a nice piece to add with the defensive-minded Gannon taking over as head coach.
