Cardinals Draft Plan Mystery to NFL Teams

The Arizona Cardinals are keeping everybody on their feet.

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are the 2024 NFL Draft's greatest mystery, and that intrigue will likely carry over until the organization themselves are on the clock next Thursday.

Momentum of Arizona wanting to move down from the fourth overall pick has carried heavily through the offseason, though apparently NFL teams are unsure of what GM Monti Ossenfort will ultimately do:

"Chargers and Cardinals are trying to sell high; high interest rate. Most teams I've talked to expect one of these two teams to trade back and it might be more momentum with the Chargers right now because they have a lot of needs trying to re-establish an identity under [new head coach] Jim Harbaugh. So, they're looking to potentially move out. I've talked to teams who say they very much want to move out, maybe get an offensive lineman or a wide receiver later in the top 10-12 somewhere," said ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler on SportsCenter (h/t Bleacher Report).

"The Cardinals are still a threat there as well, but they could stay put. Some teams I've talked to believe they might just stay and take [Ohio State's] Marvin Harrison [Jr.], who's considered widely the best wide receiver in the draft. But you've got [LSU's] Malik Nabers, you've got [Washington's] Rome Odunze, all could go top 10, and both of these teams could end up with a wide receiver by the end of it."

Two other NFL insiders have also said they believe the Cardinals wouldn't mind sticking and picking, which you can read about here.

Arizona certainly feels no pressure to move down, considering they're in position to add a top-flight receiver to an offense that desperately needs a weapon such as Harrison, Nabers or Odunze.

“It’s one of those things where I could say it gives us a lot of flexibility, but as with anything, you need a partner. You need to find someone who’s willing to move and we have to be willing to move one way or the other, up or down and you have to find a dance partner on the other end. I could come in here and say, ‘Hey, we want to move all around,’ but if nobody wants to move, then we can’t," said Ossenfort earlier this week.

“And I could say, ‘Hey, we want to sit here and stand pat with all 11,’ and somebody comes with an offer that changes my decision. That’s not entirely up to us with all those picks, so that’s why we have to just stay flexible and stay ready to go no matter what comes our way.”

The 2024 NFL Draft begins on April 25. Arizona has two first-round selections with six total coming in the first three rounds of action.