The Arizona Cardinals previously had five measly draft picks for the 2023 NFL Draft. That number is now up to eight thanks to compensatory selections.
The Arizona Cardinals desperately need a rebuild, but thanks to Steve Keim, they only had five picks for 2023. But now, you can add three more picks to that number, as the Cards were awarded the 96th, 168th, and 213th overall picks.
Of course, two of the three selections are Day 3 picks, but who cares? The Cards can always find a nice diamond in the rough with those selections. And with the number of needs they have, they can also use those picks to draft quality backups if they can’t land an eventual starter.
Arizona Cardinals awarded three additional draft picks for 2023
Christian Kirk’s departure to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022 garnered a third round pick, while the losses of Chandler Jones and Chase Edmunds gave the Cards their respective fifth and seventh round picks.
Now equipped with three picks in the Top 100, Arizona doesn’t have to pick and choose to the same extent of which positions they would like to address over the three-day event. They can now focus on needs like edge, and both the interior offensive and defensive lines with (hopefully) quality selections in the Top 100.
And the Redbirds might not be done just yet. If they landed a few trades, notably DeAndre Hopkins and D.J. Humphries, don’t be surprised if the Cards landed an additional second-rounder, another Day 3 pick, and perhaps a mid-round pick or two as far as Humphries goes.
Overall, it’s great to see the Arizona Cardinals hold a solid number of much-needed picks for the draft. Now, we just need to hope Ossenfort can draft better than his predecessor. If he can, then the Cards will turn things around sooner than later.
We’ve been talking a lot about free agency here at Raising Zona. But now, it’s going to be a lot more fun to talk about the biggest and most anticipated date of the NFL’s offseason.
Source: Arizona Cardinals awarded trio of compensatory draft picks by Tyler Drake, ArizonaSports.com.