Draft Analyst 'Shocked' if Cardinals Don't Trade Up

ARIZONA -- All talk surrounding the Arizona Cardinals and the 2024 NFL Draft is centered around their top pick at No. 4 - and perhaps rightfully so.

Yet the Cardinals also have another first-round pick at No. 27 that carries intrigue, and much like their other top selection, there's some noise about the Cardinals moving off their original slot.

While Arizona could potentially look to move down out of the top five, the Cardinals are also a team to watch to move up from 27 to a higher slot.

There's been some noise about that happening for awhile, though NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein said he'd be "shocked" if the Cardinals didn't move up from the pick.

"I'll be pretty shocked if either Arizona or Washington (or frankly both) aren't moving some of their enormous stockpiles of draft capital and making a move back into the first. I understand AZ has two picks in one, but I think it's likely they package another pick and upgrade 27," he wrote on Twitter/X.

Zierlein isn't the only draft analyst with that train of thought, as ESPN's Jordan Reid offered this earlier in April:

"General manager Monti Ossenfort is known for wheeling and dealing during the draft, and since the Cardinals are tied for the most picks this year (11), I'd expect more of the same. It shouldn't come as a surprise if Arizona gets aggressive and attempts to move up from No. 27 for a cornerback on Day 1," he wrote.

"Murphy-Bunting is more of a CB2. There's a glaring need for a high-upside CB1, and Nate Wiggins (Clemson) and Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama) could be Day 1 options for a roster still in the talent collection portion of its rebuild."

If the Cardinals address wide receiver with their first pick (wherever it may be), edge and corner are the next two holes Ossenfort could look to fill by moving up.

Terrion Arnold, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are considered to be the top three corners in this class while edge players such as Jared Verse and Laiatu Latu are at the top of most boards.

“It’s one of those things where I could say it gives us a lot of flexibility, but as with anything, you need a partner," Ossenfort told reporters earlier this week.

"You need to find someone who’s willing to move and we have to be willing to move one way or the other, up or down and you have to find a dance partner on the other end. I could come in here and say, ‘Hey, we want to move all around,’ but if nobody wants to move, then we can’t."

The 2024 NFL Draft begins on April 25. The Cardinals have 11 total picks - six of which come in the first three rounds.