Cardinals' Biggest Remaining Needs After the Draft

The Arizona Cardinals fared mostly well in post-draft grades and analysis, though there's still room for improvement in various spots.

That's life for an NFL team, as there's always bound to be holes along the roster. No squad is perfect, though the Cardinals didn't address two of their biggest questions in either free agency or the draft.

Now, as offseason work will ramp up soon, the Cardinals still have these two questions to solve.

Who Will Step Up as EDGE2 Opposite of Josh Sweat?

Dec 7, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals linebacker Josh Sweat (10) against the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The good news? Josh Sweat is coming off his best season with 12 sacks and proved himself worthy of the massive contract Arizona inked him to last offseason.

The bad news? The Cardinals didn't show any help across from his last season, and they added nothing to the room in either free agency or the draft.

Arizona enters the 2026 summer with a mix of Jordan Burch, Baron Browning, Zaven Collins and BJ Ojulari. The four players combined for 5.5 sacks in 2025.

Ojulari is fresh off recovering from a major knee injury while Browning is fine in rotational duties. Collins is strongest in run support while Burch's second year hopefully has more in store after an impressive rookie preseason didn't do much for his regular season playing time.

Arizona was highly expected to address the edge rusher position early in the draft but didn't quite make that a priority, rather opting to fix the run game and plug other spots. Which is fine.

Until the Cardinals again can't generate pressure on the other side of Sweat, allowing offenses to devote more resources to locking up Sweat and daring Arizona to win one-on-one matchups elsewhere.

That wasn't a recipe for success last season, and with defensive coordinator Nick Rallis back for another year, how much of that can change?

Where Is Your Future Right Tackle?

Dec 31, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson (65) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Cardinals signed a handful of guys in free agency that could serve as plug-and-plays along the offensive line if needed, mostly Elijah Wilkinson, Oli Udoh and Matt Pryor. That also pairs with tackles in Josh Fryar and Christian Jones already on the roster.

All are capable of various degrees at starting for the Cardinals on a temporary basis, though what about a long-term answer?

That's yet to be discovered after Arizona bypassed a handful of opportunities to address that very question in the draft, most notably in either the first or second round.

Such is life, and while the Cardinals did do good in getting potential starting guard Chase Bisontis on Day 2, Arizona still doesn't have a suitable anchor to pair with Paris Johnson Jr. for the future years to come.

At this point it's fair to say we're nitpicking. The Cardinals upgraded two spots along an offensive line with right tackle now practically the only question mark, though grabbing two edge-erasers for whoever will be playing quarterback down the road in the desert would have been quite nice.

That didn't happen, and now that will again be a need moving into next offseason barring a surprise trade.

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