Cardinals Draft Trends: How Arizona Has Attacked the NFL Combine

The Arizona Cardinals move into the NFL combine with these trends to note.

Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort looks on before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Arizona Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort enters his fourth season running the organization, and after a 3-14 record in 2025, his seat does feel the temperature rising as the NFL world flocks to Indianapolis for the NFL combine.

With a full slate of draft picks, Ossenfort and his scouting department will have the opportunity to interview, examine and watch the hundreds of college prospects participating this week.

It's a landmark event, one where the Cardinals have solidified their beliefs on various players they've drafted. And with three years of data under Ossenfort, there's a few trends to watch.

Cardinals Actually Do Travel to NFL Combine

It's important to note the Cardinals do indeed travel to the NFL Combine, unlike a few other teams in the NFL. This affords Arizona the opportunity to see and meet with these prospects in person ahead of pro days and official visits ahead of the draft.

Cardinals Largely Avoid Non-Power 4 Schools

Feb 3, 2026; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort at a press conference at the Cardinals training facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Ossenfort's drafted 28 players through his three prior drafts, and just three have been from non-power 4 schools. All three were taken on the third and final day of the draft:

• 2023: Houston QB Clayton Tune (5th Round)
• 2024: UAB WR Tejhaun Palmer (6th Round)
• 2025: Nevada SAF Kitan Crawford (7th Round)

We included Tune in this list in spite of Houston officially joining the Big 12 just months after the draft in the summer of 2023.

This is a vast changeup from prior general manager Steve Keim, who coveted those smaller-school prospects. Ossenfort's banked his roster largely on talented, known and vetted programs — which includes a notable school.

Ossenfort's Affinity For Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) warms up prior to the NCAA football game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Ohio Stadium. | Adam Cairns/USA Today / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ossenfort's taken an Ohio State player in each year of the draft under his control, kicking his tenure off with back-to-back first-round picks in OT Paris Johnson Jr. (No. 6 overall in 2023) and WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (No. 4 overall in 2024).

2025 saw multiple Buckeyes selected in LB Cody Simon (fourth round) and CB Denzel Burke (fifth round).

Each player contributed in their rookie seasons, speaking to the pro-ready Ohio State program that has essentially become a factory for NFL-level talent on a yearly basis.

The nnly other schools with multiple players drafted under Ossenfort are Texas (2) and Illinois (2).

This year, either OSU linebacker Arvell Reese or safety Caleb Downs will be available for the Cardinals with the third overall pick. Defensive lineman Kayden McDonald could also be an option for Arizona after the first round.

All three are names to monitor this week.

Cardinals Do Gamble on 'Flagged' Prospects

Dec 21, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Walter Nolen III (97) against the Atlanta Falcons at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Culture has been a major buzzword in Arizona, or it had under previous head coach Jonathan Gannon before he was sent packing this season.

High football character has been a must for the Cardinals, though when it comes to a prospects history in terms of character or health, Arizona's actually taken a swing at the plate on a number of prospects in the draft.

Most notably came with last year's first-round pick Walter Nolen, who had major concerns around his love/passion for the game entering draft day. 2025 second-round pick Will Johnson saw his stock plummet to the second round thanks to long-term concerns around his knee before the Cardinals stopped his slide.

2023's class saw Michael Wilson (who largely struggled to stay healthy at Stanford) and Garrett Williams (coming off a torn ACL) selected by the Cardinals, too.

Ossenfort does have a soft spot for talented players that slide due to various reasons.

Does RAS Matter to Cardinals? Somewhat

Relative Athletic Score (RAS) has been used and developed by Kent Lee Platte to combine pro day/combine testing along with height, weight and other metrics to evaluate how athletic a prospect is for their position on a 1-10 scale.

While some players don't test and therefore their grades are incomplete, the Cardinals clearly do like their players to be more on the athletic side. At least 11 draft picks have scored over 6.00 with Clayton Tune having the highest under Ossenfort at 9.83/10.

Four players (Tune, Trey Benson, Michael Wilson and Owen Pappoe) were all graded at least a 9/10.

Obviously, it's not the end-all be-all, though it's another tool and metric used to differentiate prospects.

Athletes testing well won't directly correlate to the Cardinals' interest in them, though it's safe to say it doesn't hurt, either.