After months of intense debate and evaluation of players, the Arizona Cardinals are finally ready to use the third overall selection on who they hope can become a franchise cornerstone. Of course, Cardinals general manager Monty Ossenfort could find a trade offer too good to refuse, allowing Arizona to add to their draft capital while still getting a prospect they like a lot.
Still, the Cardinals themselves may not yet know what they'll be doing on draft day. Like most other teams, the Cardinals' plans may depend on how the draft board goes past them, with the Jets selecting at No. 2, and rumor that they are targeting a pass-rusher.
According to NFL insider Tony Pauline of Essential Sports, the Cardinals' GM "wants" Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey. If he is no longer available, the Cardinals front office will "try hard" to trade up in the first round.
Pauline wrote, "The Cardinals, especially general manager Monty Ossenfort, want David Bailey." "If he's not available, Arizona will work hard to move the selection up. They could potentially move the selection up before the draft starts. If Bailey is unavailable and they can't move up the selection, I'm told it's unlikely they select Arvel Reese, as they view him as a hybrid defender versus a pure edge rusher, and the Cardinals have bombed out on hybrid selections in the past."
The Cardinals have attempted to draft guys who have no natural home in the NFL, such as eight-year-old Isaiah Simmons in 2020 and 16-year-old Zavon Collins in 2021. Neither one has lived up to their potential, and the fear is that Reese won't either.
However, Ossenfort wasn't even with the Cardinals in 2020 or 2021, meaning he had nothing to do with the Cardinals' previous draft misses. One would think this shouldn't impact how the Cardinals pursue draft prospects, but unless Pauline's report is a smokescreen, Arizona doesn't appear to be too impressed with Reese, leaving us to wonder how far Ohio State could fall on hybrid draft day.
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