Cardinals Free Agency Moves Reveal Obvious Direction for NFL Draft

The Arizona Cardinals' bulk of free agent moves are behind them, and with all engines now firing towards the draft, their direction for late April is becoming increasingly obvious.

The Cardinals didn't exactly make a splash on the open market, though strong signings in Tyler Allgeier and Isaac Seumalo should help first-year head coach Mike LaFleur get the run game back to par.

Other depth signings were made for both sides of the ball, though positions such as quarterback, edge rusher, right tackle and even right guard could still stand for upgrades.

And while there's a ton of smoke on a new franchise passer landing in the desert, in terms of the No. 3 overall pick, it sure feels like the Cardinals would like to take a premium pass rusher.

Cardinals Eying Edge Rusher at No. 3?

The Cardinals will have a slew of choices between the likes of David Bailey, Arvell Reese and Rueben Bain Jr. with the third overall pick. The New York Jets, picking ahead of them at No. 2, are likely to nab one of the aforementioned pass rushers as well.

There's also a big chance the Cardinals take a right tackle such as Francis Mauigoa at No. 3, though Arizona did add three different OL with starting experience at guard/tackle, so perhaps they'll eye a second or third-round opportunity to find a fresh face there.

Arizona didn't add any outside names to their outside linebacker's room in 2026. While Josh Sweat is high off a career-year in terms of sack production (12), the gap between the rest of the room is sizable to say the least.

All of Baron Browning, Jordan Burch and Zaven Collins posted just 4.5 sacks combined last season. With no upgrades coming through free agency, that needs to change in the draft.

"There was some good, there was some bad, there are some things that have to improve. And you can say that for any of our guys," Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said back at the combine.

"Josh was great, Josh was as advertised. Came in and was able to disrupt the quarterback on the edge. All of our players would always say, they'd be the first to say, there's some things I left out there. And it's our job to help them develop, put them in situations to succeed. So that's true for edge as it is for all positions across our team."

Those didn't exactly sound like convincing words, and with a plethora of strong options coming for the Cardinals at the top of the draft order, Arizona is primed and poised to welcome a young and talented pass rusher to make an impact from the jump.