PITTSBURGH, PA — The Arizona Cardinals head into the 2026 NFL Draft with seven picks, but the question is, will General Manager Monti Ossenfort stay with those seven picks as they are, or make a trade to pick up more selections?
Current Cardinals picks:
Round 1 – pick #3
Round 2 - pick #2 (34)
Round 3 – pick #1 (65)
Round 4 – pick #4 (104)
Round 5 – pick #3 (143)
Round 6 – pick #2 (183)
Round 7 – pick #1 (217)
Speculation regarding the Cardinals' third overall pick varies depending on who you’re willing to listen to. Will they stay at #3 and take an Edge Rusher (Arvell Reese, Ohio State), an Offensive Tackle (Francis Mauigoa, Miami), or the top-rated Running Back in this year’s draft, Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame?
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Given some of the pre-draft comments from Ossenfort, it sounds like he’s open to trading that pick or possibly taking the “best-available” player. During his pre-draft news conference, Ossenfort was pretty tight-lipped but did say there won’t be much conversation (phone calls) until the Draft kicks off at 5:00 Thursday night. At that point, any conversation involving a trade will be based on what value they can get in return for their pick and which player they feel would still be available when the team’s new pick hits the clock.
The bottom line is the Cardinals have so many positions of need (including Quarterback), they could go in just about any direction come Thursday night. In my opinion, if a player like Jeremiyah Love is available at pick #3, I’d take him. The last time the Cardinals had a home run first-round pick was back in 2011 when they picked Cornerback Patrick Peterson at #5. Prior to that, you can count on Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald, whom they selected at #3 in the 2004 NFL Draft.
Bottom line, superstar picks don’t come along all that often, and historically, the Cardinals haven’t had very many to cheer about. A pick like Love could help give Cardinals fans something to actually cheer about on Draft night.
