Cardinals' NFL Draft Trade Plans Seemingly Clarifying With 24 Hours to Go

The Arizona Cardinals are looking to move down — and only one player is standing in their way.

Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort speaks to the press from the Arizona Cardinals training center in Tempe after the decision to fire head coach Jonathan Gannon on Jan. 5, 2026. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We're nearly 24 hours from the 2026 NFL Draft, where rumors and smokescreens will eventually come face to face with reality.

What exactly that reality is for the Arizona Cardinals and their third overall pick remains to be seen — though the keys to the draft and its fallout rest in Monti Ossenfort's ignition.

As of now, it appears there's only two roads the Cardinals are contemplating going down:

Option 1: Sticking, Drafting Jeremiyah Love

Nov 22, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) celebrates scoring against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

The Cardinals have been heavily connected to Love since the NFL Combine, and rather than seeing the noise tail off, Love's hype train heading towards the desert has only picked up steam.

Under the first-year watch of head coach Mike LaFleur, Arizona's looking to revamp their offense in major ways. That could potentially include the arrival of Love, who is considered to be one of the draft's best players.

Love emerges out of Notre Dame after finishing 2025 as a Heisman finalist and is thought to be on the "safer" side of prospects the Cardinals can take. He's thought to be capable of handing every down duties as a ball carrier with upside in the passing game, too.

It's a move that would generate plenty of buzz from the fan base and sell a few more jerseys and season tickets along the way, which is a factor owner Michael Bidwill certainly wouldn't mind.

Option 2: Trading Down From No. 3

Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort during a pre-draft news conference on April 16, 2026, at the Arizona Cardinals training center in Tempe. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This isn't quite the most popular option for Cardinals fans, but it could prove to be the more effective route.

Arizona has a number of holes to fill on the roster and not enough top picks to satisfy them all, currently. The pool of prospects they'd be targeting could make its way down the draft order, where they'd ideally recoup either an extra first or second-round pick in the process.

Dropping down a few spots would be ideal, as the Cardinals could still target a top defensive player or starting right tackle to fill their line out.

Ossenfort has never been shy about wheeling-and-dealing through any stage of the draft. In his fourth draft cycle in charge with some fairly open hits and misses under his watch, there might be pressure to maximize the value of a third overall pick assuming Arizona doesn't want to pick in a similar spot again in 2027.

If the Cardinals can find a sweet spot of trading down a few spots and still picking a high impact player, that might be the preferred route.