Cardinals in Win-Win Scenario for 2023 NFL Draft

Though the Arizona Cardinals are currently sitting at pick No. 3, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft was rumored to be up for sale the moment the Chicago Bears acquired it.

With just under 50 days until the 2023 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers won the sweepstakes to move up to No. 1.

In order to move up as far as they did, the Panthers handed over the following assets to Chicago:

The ninth overall pick in 2023
The 61st overall pick in 2023
A 2024 first-round pick
A 2025 second-round pick
Wide receiver D.J. Moore

That is quite a hefty sum for the Panthers to pay for the rights to the number one overall selection and it can only mean one thing - the team is intent on finding their next franchise quarterback.

As a result, the Cardinals could cash out in a major way.

Picking ahead of the Cardinals are the Panthers and Houston Texans (No. 2). Both teams are in the market for a new quarterback and it's all but a certainty that some order of Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, or Anthony Richardson will be selected with those two picks.

This means the Cardinals will have their choice of the top non-quarterback prospects in the class, namely Will Anderson Jr. That itself is a major win for Arizona and could entice the Cardinals to stay put and draft arguably the top player in the 2023 class.

There is, however, the possibility that another quarterback-needy team could feel the urge to move up now. Picking after the Cardinals are the Indianapolis Colts, a team also in need of a quarterback. This means that any other teams looking for their quarterback of the future in the 2023 NFL Draft should call the Cardinals about moving up.

The Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons are teams that make the most sense for a trade up to where the Cardinals are at, while the Detroit Lions could also flirt with taking a guy to eventually take Jared Goff's place as the starter.

Unless they are fine with taking the fourth-best quarterback, however, they will need to hop ahead of the Colts, and thus the Cardinals should receive some phone calls. Even the Colts could consider moving up a single spot to ensure nobody else tries to jump them.

There is a caveat, however: whoever trades up to the third pick with the Cardinals will be looking at the third quarterback off the board. This means that if the guy the team looking to trade up was already picked, they may not be interested in moving up anymore.

It could eliminate a team who maybe only values one quarterback highly enough to make the jump.

The bottom line? The Cardinals benefit from this trade, but don't anticipate a trade until draft day once we see the quarterbacks who will even be available at the pick.

In a worst-case scenario, they can just take Anderson.

As a wise man once said: "I see this as an absolute win!" -Bruce Banner

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