Cardinals Meeting With Yet Another NFL Draft OL

The Arizona Cardinals are doing some serious work on their OL.

Feb 28, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Northwestern offensive lineman Caleb Tiernan (OL50) speaks to members of the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals continue adding to the list of offensive tackles they've met with ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft with the new addition of Northwestern's Caleb Tiernan, who is set to have a Top 30 visit with the Cardinals today according to Ian Rapoport.

Some Top 30 visits today:
-- #Northwestern OT Caleb Tiernan is visiting the #AZCardinals.
-- #Mizzou edge Zion Young is visiting with the #Falcons today after visiting with the #Texans yesterday.
-- South Carolina CB Brandon Cisse is visiting the #Seahawks.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 8, 2026

The Cardinals have all seven draft picks to use later this April. Will one of them be Tiernan?

More on Caleb Tiernan

Tiernan was a three-year starter at left tackle for Northwestern with some right tackle experience as well. Many project him to kick inside at the next level due to his measurables, so perhaps guard is in the future or even a swing OG/OT role. Arizona has shown a big value for those sorts of players under general manager Monti Ossenfort.

The consensus around Tiernan is he'll be a high floor player that can emerge as a solid lineman but won't quite reach All-Pro levels, which in reality is fine. The draft itself is a continual crapshoot and if the Cardinals can land just a consistent contributor, especially along the offensive line, that would be a win.

Mar 1, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Northwestern offensive lineman Caleb Tiernan (OL50) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Tiernan's chances of contributing right away may not be large in Arizona. As a projected third-round pick, he'd be thrown into the mix as either an immediate backup to left guard Isaac Seumalo while the right side of the line continues to sort itself out.

Currently, Isaiah Adams is projected to be the starting right guard but could see a push in competition from any of the veterans signed in free agency such as Elijah Wilkinson, Oli Udoh and Matt Pryor – all of which have prior starting experience.

You can never have enough talent across the offensive line, but that's especially true for a Cardinals unit that suffered a major mix of injuries and overall poor play in 2025.

There's hope the presence of head coach Mike LaFleur and his prior experience working under Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay can lead to better results, though the room needs more talent injected regardless of coaching and/or schematics.

Tiernan, if drafted at his third-round price tag, would eventually be expected to become a starter — though he wouldn't be asked to do so right away. The good news? Those expectations would allow him to develop a bit before being thrown into the fire thanks to the countless veteran names ahead of him on either side of the line.