Possibilities for the Arizona Cardinals if they trade back

This past Thursday, the general manager of the Arizona Cardinals held a pre-draft press conference. Steve Keim, along with head coach Kliff Kingsbury, fielded questions regarding next week’s three-day event. Among the various subjects discussed was the possibility of the Cards moving down in the draft to compile more selections.

“I think it’d be more likely to trade back than to trade up,” Keim said. “As far as trading back and accumulating more picks, it’s not different than a lottery ticket. The more you have, the better you have the chance to hit.”

At the present time, Arizona will enter the opening round armed with the 16th-overall choice. Moving down to recoup an extra selection or two may not be a bad idea. Especially considering the fact that the Cardinals, thanks to the trades that landed them DeAndre Hopkins and Rodney Hudson, have no third or fourth round picks to speak of this year.

If the Cards did decide to trade back on the draft’s first night, Keim and company would still have some intriguing prospects to choose from. The following are just a few of the players who could still be available for the franchise towards the bottom end of round number one.

Samuel Cosmi, an offensive tackle out of the University of Texas, has experience at playing on both the left and the right sides of the line. The 6’7, 300 pounder could be a future replacement for either blindside protector D.J. Humphries or right tackle Kelvin Beachum. For now, the flexible Cosmi could provide depth at both of those positions for Big Red’s blocking unit.

Trevon Moehrig, a safety out of Texas Christian University, would be a surprise opening-round acquisition for Arizona. The 6’2, 202 pounder could be brought in to replace Jalen Thompson, the squad’s starter who missed 11 games last fall with a nagging ankle injury. Moehrig amassed 124 tackles, seven interceptions and 21 passes defensed during his three campaigns with the Horned Frogs.

Over the past couple of months, the Cardinals have been linked with cornerbacks like Patrick Surtain II, Jaycee Horn and Caleb Farley. But Asante Samuel Jr., who’s generally been considered a notch below his counterparts, could be the most talented cover guy of the bunch. In 31 collegiate appearances, the 5’10,183 pounder registered 97 tackles, four picks and 29 pass breakups for the Seminoles.

With starting edge-rushers Chandler Jones and Markus Golden now in their 30’s, the Cards could be looking for a youngster to groom behind the veteran duo. Enter Azeez Ojulari, a 6’3, 240 pounder out of the University of Georgia. In 10 contests last season, Ojulari totaled 31 tackles (12.5 for a loss), 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles for the Bulldogs.