The Arizona Cardinals best option in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft may be to trade out
I’m as excited to see what happens in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft like any other football fan. I would love to see the Arizona Cardinals get a guy they covet in the first round. However their best option right now may be to just trade out.
After both the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns traded out the first two picks in favor of the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles, the thought process of how the first round might go has now changed. The Cardinals for their part, at least from head coach Bruce Arians, is that they won’t pick because of need. They pick based on best player available.
The Cardinals should have a slight shot of getting possibly both if they stay in the first round. Center Ryan Kelly out of Alabama fits a need and likely fits one of the best players available by the time pick number 29 comes around. That is if Kelly is still around. That is a big if. Many believe he will be gone by the time the Cardinals turn comes around.
So with that in mind, the best option for the Cardinals would be to trade out of the first round and possibly back into the second round. They traded their only second round pick to the New England Patriots back in March in exchange for defensive end Chandler Jones.
Coach Bruce Arians said the #AZCardinals will go through about 3 mock drafts before next Thursday and will throw in a "crazy" trade as well.
— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) April 20, 2016
See, Arians is already a step ahead of all of us, which is exactly where we want him and general manager Steve Keim to be. They will certainly prepare for trade scenario’s. Of course it will never play out the way you mock it but at least you prepare yourself for the possibilities.
The Eagles didn’t know 48 hours ago that they would have the second pick in the draft. They may have already been trying to get it but it wasn’t done until this morning. Things change that quickly. The first round pick the Cardinals own, unless Kelly is there, should be traded to someone in in the high to mid second round.