Each day leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft — April 23-25 — TeamFB7 will break down a different team’s biggest draft need and the best selection to address it. Granted, teams will most often use their first-round pick on the best available player/value and not necessarily always their biggest need, so this isn’t going to compile together into a mock draft in the end. It’s more a breakdown of how each team could best address its most paramount priority if it chooses.
Normally when a team buys out an expensive veteran quarterback, it’s because it already has a plan in place to replace him and reset at the position.
We want to give Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort the benefit of the doubt that he does indeed have a plan to replace Kyler Murray, whom they are still paying $35.5 million in 2026 but to now play for the Minnesota Vikings.
But as we went in-depth on yesterday, well, Ossenfort hasn’t inspired much confidence with his management of the team the last three years.
The Cardinals felt such urgency to dump Murray at all costs despite this being one of the worst/thinnest quarterback draft classes in recent memory, then settled for journeyman backup Gardner Minshew as their free agent QB acquisition to pair with incumbent Jacoby Brissett.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense on the surface.
It’s a foregone conclusion that Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is going No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s a general consensus that Alabama QB Ty Simpson is the second-best prospect at the position in this draft pool. But there’s a wide range of evaluations on Simpson, his potential as an NFL starter and whether he’s even worth a first-round pick.
It’s plenty possible the Cardinals are bullish on Simpson and have decided he could be their next franchise quarterback, thus prompting the urgency to clear the depth chart and move on from Murray at all costs now. But if that’s the plan, the Minshew signing is a bit confusing as he is regarded as one of the better backup QBs in the league (not a No. 3) and the Cards already have one of the other better backup-caliber QBs in the league in Brissett.
If the Cardinals aren’t planning to get Simpson in the draft, then what was the urgency to pay Murray a fortune to help the Vikings rather than keep him one more year and see if new offensive-minded head coach Mike LeFleur can elevate the offense around him?
If they are all-in on Simpson, why lock in a second backup quarterback now rather than just trade for a Kenny Pickett type next month or sign Kirk Cousins, etc., if ultimately needed?
Anyways, common sense would suggest that the Cardinals like Simpson and plan to target him in the draft — that’s the only way any of this adds up at all.
But not with the No. 3 overall pick, surely.
The Cardinals hold the following picks in the 2026 NFL Draft — listed by round (overall pick): 1 (3), 2 (34), 3 (65), 4 (104), 5 (143), 6 (183) and 7 (217).
Here’s where several high-profile draft gurus project Simpson to go:
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.: No. 16 to the New York Jets
ESPN’s Field Yates: No. 26 to the Arizona Cardinals (via trading up to get that pick from the Buffalo Bills)
The Ringer’s Todd McShay: Out of the first round
NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah: Out of the first round
NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks: Out of the first round
So this is what we can glean from the Cardinals’ moves to this point and the general expectations for where Simpson lands in the draft …
Arizona would like to use that early second-round pick (No. 34) to snag the Alabama quarterback and could potentially consider packaging it with other draft assets to move up into the second half of the first round to get him if needed, but it gave itself a backup plan to hold off if the price isn’t right, roll with Brissett and Minshew for a year and target the deep 2027 QB draft class to find a long-term answer at the position.
(The Cardinals had to release Murray by March 15 or an additional $19.5 million became guaranteed for 2027, so they couldn’t wait to see how the draft played out, but the Minshew signing indicates they also aren’t necessarily all-in on Simpson at any cost.)
So if that’s how we assume Arizona would like to use its second-round pick, that still leaves the primary question we’re here to answer — what is the Cardinals’ most pressing (non-QB) need and who would be the best pick at No. 3 to address it?
What Is The Cardinals’ Biggest Non-QB Draft Need?
The Cardinals’ offensive puzzle is fairly clear outside of quarterback.
The team signed free agent running back Tyler Allgeier, formerly of the Falcons, to pair with James Conner in a solid backfield tandem. With Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson fresh off a breakout 1,000-yard season in 2025 and the addition of free agent Kendrick Bourne, formerly of the 49ers, Arizona’s top three receivers are in place. And Trey McBride is established as one of the top tight ends in football after setting career-highs with 126 catches for 1,239 yards and 11 TDs last season.
That leaves only the offensive line with any real room for tinkering.
Paris Johnson, the No. 6 overall pick in 2023, is locked in at left tackle. The Cardinals’ biggest free agent signing was Isaac Seumalo (3 years, $31.5 million), the 10-year veteran formerly of the Steelers who now takes over at left guard. Hjalte Froholdt has been the team’s starting center the last three years and was ranked 14th out of 40 qualifying centers in 2025 by PFF. Third-year lineman Isaiah Adams is a serviceable right guard. Right tackle is the question mark.
Jonah Williams was a big free agent signing two years ago and expected to lock down the right side of the line, but he played in just 15 games in two seasons for the Cardinals and is now a free agent again. Meanwhile, Arizona signed Elijah Wilkinson, the Falcons’ starting right tackle last season who spent 2023 with the Cardinals. But he got a modest two-year, $6.25 million deal, which means he could return value even as a depth piece if the team wanted to upgrade the depth chart.
So right tackle is the one spot Arizona could target in a draft with some very intriguing top-end OT prospects.
With the investment made in the running game and hiring an offensive-minded head coach, adding a missing piece to what could be a top-10 NFL offensive line makes plenty of sense — especially if planning to lean on a rookie quarterback either this year or next.
On the defensive side, the Cardinals are set up well at cornerback (Will Johnson, Denzel Burke, Garrett Williams and Sean Murphy-Bunting) and theoretically defensive tackle (2025 first-round pick Walter Nolen and Roy Lopez, who was a starter for Arizona in 2024 before spending last season in Detroit).
Every other spot could use some help.
The Cardinals have eight-time Pro Bowl selection Budda Baker at safety but lost fellow reliable veteran Jalen Thompson in free agency to the Dallas Cowboys. Arizona replaced him with Andrew Wingard, who is coming off a career-best season with the Jaguars (84 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 INT, 9 passes defended) but has only been a starter in two of his seven NFL seasons. PFF ranked him 75th out of 98 qualifying safeties in 2025, and he signed only a modest 1-year, $3-million contract.
Arizona also lost its most productive linebacker in Akeem Davis-Gaither to the Colts, leaving Cody Simon, Mack Wilson and newly signed Jack Gibbens (formerly of the Patriots) as a serviceable but unspectacular trio.
The biggest need, though, is at edge rusher. While 2025 free agent splash signing Josh Sweat delivered big last season with a career-high 12 sacks, 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson has been a total bust and was ranked dead-last out of 134 qualifying edge rushers by PFF last season. Nobody else on the roster had more than 3 sacks last season.
So to summarize, we’d ranked the Cardinals’ biggest non-QB draft needs as EDGE, LB, OT and S in that order.
Who Should Arizona Cardinals Draft At No. 3 Overall?
So who should the Cardinals take at No. 3?
Bear in mind, Ossenfort has been aggressive in trading picks during the draft. In his first draft with Arizona in 2023, he traded back from No. 3 to No. 12, then traded back up to No. 6 (taking the left tackle Johnson). So there’s no certainty the Cardinals stay at 3.
But if they do …
Let’s go back to the draft gurus to see who they project Arizona to take at No. 3: Kiper, Yates and Brooks have the Cardinals taking Ohio State OLB Arvell Reese while McShay and Jeremiah have them selecting Miami OT Francis Mauigoa (because they both have Reese going No. 2 to the Jets).
We like to run our own race, swim our own stream, etc., but in this case our independent assessment agrees — Reese is the obvious pick if he’s available. If not, then Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey would be our next recommendation.
Reese is one of the most unique prospects in the draft in that there is no consensus yet on which position suits him best at the next level — edge rusher or off-ball linebacker. There is almost no question or doubt, though, that Reese will be an impact NFL player wherever he slots into a defense.
And in the Cardinals’ case, they need upgrades at both spots, so it really doesn’t matter.
The 6-foot-4, 241-pound Reese had 69 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks for the best defense in college football last year with Ohio State and wowed at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.46-second 40-yard dash and in field work.
It’s possible he can be deployed as a unique weapon in the NFL that can move around and do more than a typical linebacker.
If Reese falls to No. 3, even Ossenfort can’t mess this one up. We think.
If the Jets take him at No. 2, then Arizona is still in a fine spot with several compelling options but no clear-cut answer.
The choices would be going edge rusher and choosing between Bailey and Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr.; taking Mauigoa, the near-consensus top offensive tackle in the draft; or considering two other Ohio State Buckeyes stars in linebacker Sonny Styles or safety Caleb Downs, considered one of the most can’t-miss prospects at the position in years.
We’d roll the dice on Bailey, but all of those players address the Cardinals’ biggest needs and we really couldn’t fault going with any of them. That means the team could look to trade down a few picks, collect extra draft capital and have the decision made for them.
However it shakes out, Arizona should wind up with a major asset at a position of priority need.
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