The Arizona Cardinals are exceeding expectations with their 1-2 record to open the 2026 NFL Season. They even have a realistic shot at getting back to .500 with an upcoming road matchup against the 2-1 New York Giants, who now find themselves without quarterback Jaxson Dart for the season due to injury.
Overall, that's a promising sign of their new era under first-year head coach Mike LaFleur and, to a lesser extent, rookie running back Jeremiyah Love. Still, the rebuilding Cardinals know they still have a long way to go in terms of roster upgrades before they genuinely compete with the likes of the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West, arguably the most difficult division in all of football.
Cardinals should already be looking ahead to 2027 NFL Draft
The downside of exceeding expectations this season is that the Cardinals are hurting their chances at landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Still, there's plenty of football left to play this season, and the upset over a suddenly flawed-looking Los Angeles Chargers team in Week 1 shouldn't drastically alter any plans.
Arizona already needs to be targeting a coveted prospect in next year's draft in hopes of landing that franchise-altering prospect to elevate their ceiling to belong in the conversation with the rest of the NFC West. There's the obvious need at a long-term quarterback position, seeing as they didn't add any additional years to Jacoby Brissett's reworked deal this offseason.
But if the Cardinals are fortunate enough to be in that position to land the top overall selection, they aren't in a position to pass up the best available prospect. By all accounts, that's Ohio State's standout wide receiver, Jeremiah Smith.
Jeremiah Smith is a generational prospect
Recently on Set, Hut!, Seattle Seahawks superstar wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba even compared Smith to "the LeBron James of all-time Buckeyes."
"We really haven't seen a guy like Jeremiah Smith come out of Ohio State...he's like the LeBron James and the pressure's on him but he seems to respond week after week."
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 29, 2026
Jaxon Smith-Njigba talks Jeremiah Smith on Set, Hut! pic.twitter.com/EsuhKScW9u
That's saying something coming from Smith-Njigba, who has made a compelling case as the league's best wide receiver over the past two seasons.
The Cardinals already have elite offensive weapons between tight end Trey McBride and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love. They need a long-term quarterback to unlock those existing talents, but also need to be strategic when it comes to maximizing value in the draft.
The Cardinals still don't have a clear-cut WR1 in their receiving room with Marvin Harrison Jr.'s early-season struggles. They aren't in a position to pass up Smith, not when he's drawing comparisons to LeBron James.
If the Cardinals' momentum comes to a halt and they wind up with the No. 1 overall pick, they should still overlook their pressing quarterback problem. Jeremiah Smith is that good.
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