NFL Execs Spill Intel on Cardinals' No. 3 Pick
The Arizona Cardinals entered the 2023 NFL Combine looking for answers last week. Perhaps they found some.
Though free agency is set to begin next week, the monumental task of deciding what fate lies ahead with the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft will be on the shoulders of new general manager Monti Ossenfort - perhaps right up until the Cardinals are on the clock.
The Athletic recently compiled a mock draft completed by NFL general managers and execs throughout the league on what they believe is the most likely outcome.
One of the more obvious choices in Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson. One exec from a division rival says it's Anderson-or-bust at No. 3:
“If Will Anderson is there, Arizona takes him, and it is a slam dunk,” an exec from the NFC West told The Athletic. “If Anderson is not there, Arizona would want to move out.”
The author of the article - Mike Sando - points out that Georgia DL Jalen Carter's stock took a hit at the Combine after some legal issues emerged just minutes before he was supposed to speak.
"Georgia’s Carter would be the obvious choice from a talent standpoint, but most execs thought selecting him this early would be problematic with two misdemeanor charges pending against him," said Sando.
"One exec from another team picking in the top 10 called it 'impossible' for first-year Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort to make Carter the centerpiece of his inaugural class."
Another option in the class is Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson, a physical freak who has potentially entered top-five territory and was even mocked to the Cardinals at No. 3 by NFL insider Daniel Jeremiah.
“I think Tyree Wilson replaces Jalen Carter in the top five if Wilson checks out medically (following a foot injury),” one exec told The Athletic while another general manager said it's too early to judge Carter's situation.
“It depends what all comes out of that,” this GM said, “but I doubt it.”
Sando expanded on the debate between some of the top three defensive prospects.
"The thinking holds that Chicago, Arizona and Seattle could be targeting defensive linemen early in the draft, and that Anderson, Carter and Wilson are the most talented prospects at the position. Another exec said he thought Carter could fall into the 10-12 range the way eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp did in 1995, when reports surfaced the day before the draft that Sapp had failed drug tests. Carter’s troubles arose much earlier in the process, which means there is time for perceptions to evolve."
Plenty of options are on the table for Arizona at No. 3. One assistant GM said the Cardinals won't gamble on Carter's situation.
“Monti comes from New England, and they are not going to gamble on character at the top of the draft,” one assistant GM said. “You can’t do it for you first pick. They have to go with the Alabama kid, Anderson. Best rusher in the draft. Can’t-miss character.”
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