It’s Becoming Obvious What Cardinals Really Want in the NFL Draft

The tea leaves have been pretty clear for awhile now.

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

The Arizona Cardinals are just days away from the 2026 NFL Draft, and by the day it's becoming more and more clear on which direction they want to go.

General manager Monti Ossenfort has never been shy when trade opportunities arise. Through his three years orchestrating drafts in the desert, the Cardinals have moved up and down the board on all three days of festivities.

That again appears to be the case, as the Cardinals are heavily rumored to be eying a trade down from the third overall pick.

The latest chirps out of the nest have come from SI.com's Albert Breer, who listed Arizona as one of a handful of teams eying a move down in the first round.

"Teams picking behind the Jets are looking to move down. Count the Cardinals, Titans, Giants, Browns and Commanders among those already looking at trying to drop down in the order to accumulate capital. The problem for those five is finding teams to move up," Breer wrote.

This is something Ossenfort himself previously alluded to back at the combine, where he suggested the Cardinals may not even be picking at their initial third overall selection.

Arizona's third overall pick could give plenty of options for teams looking to move up. David Bailey, Arvell Reese and Jeremiyah Love are believed to be candidates to go in the top five. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this isn't considered a top heavy draft in terms of prospects, so teams may be less willing to make the jump up the board.

A common trade partner connected with the Cardinals have been the Dallas Cowboys, who own the No. 12 pick and may just be eying a pass rusher to replace Micah Parsons.

"Would Arizona take a slight discount or ask Dallas for its third-rounder, which would leave the Cowboys with just one pick in the top 100? It’s interesting to ponder, anyway," Breer continued.

"At this point, for teams picking that high, it’s going to be challenging to find partners to move into that range. It’s more likely that we’ll get more movement in the middle of the first round than we do at the top of it."

It's obvious the Cardinals are wanting to trade down and take a player a bit later in the order they just might have gotten at the third overall pick. However, finding a suitable partner and proper deal will prove to be difficult.