What a Perfect Arizona Cardinals Draft Would Look Like

Without mocking specific players to the Arizona Cardinals, here's what a perfect draft would look like for the team.

Author:
Richie Bradshaw
Publish date:
Apr 27, 2023 1:00 PM EDT

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2023 will be a telling year for the Arizona Cardinals as they face a new direction under first-time head coach and general manager Jonathan Gannon and Monti Ossenfort, respectively.

While they don't need to knock the 2023 NFL Draft out of the park, they need to get some momentum going that will suggest things are heading in the right direction.

What would the perfect 2023 NFL Draft look like?

If the Cardinals want to walk away from the 2023 NFL Draft feeling successful, they should adopt the following road map to follow:

Trade down from the third overall pick

While I am adamant that Will Anderson Jr. is a generational pass rusher, the top player in the draft class, and a prospect the Cardinals should be thrilled to select, I also understand that a new franchise and coaching staff would rather have as many at-bats as possible to add talent.

To further this point, the quarterback class will have no shortage of teams willing to trade up to the third overall pick for their guy. The Cardinals can capitalize on this and not only get assets this year but also for future drafts. That's beyond difficult to pass up for Gannon and Ossenfort, no matter how remarkable Anderson is.

Take the best defensive player available in the first-round

Following the trade down we all expect to happen, the next priority for the Cardinals should be to select the best defender on the board. Edge rusher, defensive tackle, cornerback - it doesn't matter.

The Cardinals' defense was awful last year and Gannon is a defensive-minded head coach who led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl berth a year ago. The best thing you can do to ease his transition is to get him a cornerstone to build around. There is a ridiculous amount of talent to add defensively at a wide variety of positions, so this should be a no-brainer decision.

Take the best offensive lineman available in the second-round

The depth for offensive tackles this year is insane and the interior linemen should slide due to other needs ahead of them. This means when the Cardinals are on the clock at the top of the second round, there will be plenty of options to fancy.

I would lean towards a top tackle like Anton Harrison, Dawand Jones, or Darnell Wright if they fell that far, but interior linemen like O'Cyrus Torrence and John Michael Schmitz could be available. While it's unlikely the Cardinals will have their pick of this litter, I would be stunned if at least two of these guys weren't available with the 34th pick.

Use the mid-rounds to add a wide receiver

With DeAndre Hopkins likely on the way out via trade and Marquise Brown heading into the final year of his rookie contract, wide receiver depth and a potential starter is an underrated need for the Cardinals. The talent in this year's class doesn't appear to have many top dogs, but there is plenty of depth for the middle rounds to fall.

Guys like Tank Dell (Houston), Jonathan Mingo (Ole Miss), Marvin Mims (Oklahoma), Xavier Hutchinson (Iowa State), Cedric Tillman (Tennessee), and Rashee Rice (SMU) could all be available in the third round or later. Any of those guys would be great, but there's more than just this handful of guys to take.

Try and go 60/40 with picks leaning toward the defense

With a defensive-minded head coach and a defense that needs major work, I for one say the Cardinals should be going defensive-heavy in the 2023 NFL Draft. It's not only a deep draft for defensive talent, but it's got some potential superstars that the team would be insane to not take.

Don't get me wrong, the offense needs a bit more juice, too, but the defense is in need of a massive makeover. This has already been somewhat started, but adding those young talents should be the biggest priority for the Cardinals come draft time.