The Arizona Cardinals finished with a 4-13 record for the second straight season, but the vibe feels entirely different than it did in January 2023. For one, we saw the general manager and coach inflict a much-needed culture change, perhaps one of the most-needed changes in the NFL.
Arizona has also established a sound identity for 2024 on offense, and they will pick up a few pieces for them to continue to cement that identity. As for defense, well, there is a huge ‘Under Construction’ sign blocking a plethora of positions on the depth chart, or at least there should be.
Thankfully, general manager Monti Ossenfort did his due diligence in 2023 to acquire a lot of draft picks to continue fixing this mess. So where will he and the Cardinals select heading into the draft before any trades? Here is where they currently stand in all seven rounds.
Arizona Cardinals kick off the 2024 NFL Draft with…
In the first round, the Cardinals will pick fourth, and that one is set in stone. But we don’t quite know where the Redbirds will land their second first-round pick as the Houston Texans won their division, and that pick could land between 19th and 32nd. For the selection to be 19th, Houston must lose on Wildcard Weekend while Green Bay and Tampa Bay must win. Since Houston had the lowest strength of schedule among their 10-7 peers, it works in the Cardinals favor.
The rest of the Cardinals picks at this time are as follows:
- 35th overall
- 66th overall
- 71st overall
- 86th overall - from Hou
- 104th overall
- 136th overall
- 156th overall - from Hou
- 187th overall - from Min
- 221st overall
- 223rd overall - from NYG
- 244th overall - from Cle
As you can see, the Arizona Cardinals have a lot of Day 3 picks, but we can argue Ossenfort played his cards rather well on Day 3 last year, so maybe he strikes again in 2024. And remember, not all of the above picks - like the Redbirds second pick in the first round - are set in stone because the playoffs still need to be played, so expect a follow-up piece like this after the Super Bowl.
Source: Tankathon