Despite already having Jacoby Brissett under contract, as well as signing Gardner Minshew to a one-year deal, there is still growing speculation that the Cardinals could be in the business of selecting a quarterback out of the 2026 draft class.
Aside from Fernando Mendoza, who is widely projected to go No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, there aren’t many quarterback prospects that are worthy of the Cardinals to draft at pick No. 3.
In ESPN's recent mock draft, Field Yates has the Cardinals selecting Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese with their first pick. A solid pick by Arizona, but not even close to the most shocking move made by Ossenfort and the front office.
Yates projects Ossenfort to pull a move very similar to what the New York Giants did last season, and that was trading back into the first round and selecting their quarterback of the future.
The Giants took Jaxson Dart at pick No. 25, only 22 selections after the team selected Abdul Carter at pick No. 3, nearly identical to what Yates projects the Cardinals to do.
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“Arizona can execute its own version of what the Giants accomplished in 2025. New York landed edge rusher Abdul Carter at No. 3 before trading up to take quarterback Jaxson Dart at No. 25. After taking Arvell Reese up top, the Cardinals can land the clear-cut second-best quarterback in this class here.” — Field Yates
Yates believes that Ossenfort will crack a deal with the Buffalo Bills that would give the Cardinals the No. 26 overall pick and use it on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
In his junior season with the Crimson Tide, Simpson completed 305-of-473 passes for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns en route to a College Football Playoff quarterfinal appearance.
Is this a longshot? Probably. But is it fun to make big-time projections like this? Absolutely.