TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have a new coach in Mike LaFleur and a holdover general manager in Monti Ossenfort.
The franchise’s hope is their different perspectives can combine for one successful philosophy as they evaluate players heading into the NFL draft, which begins on April 23 when the Cardinals have the No. 3 overall pick.
“We have structures, processes in place that you get used to with one group,” Ossenfort said. “Now there’s a bunch of new coaches. It goes both ways. There’s ways that I like to do things and then there’s perspectives that (LaFleur) brings that I haven’t seen.
“That’s exciting. It brings something fresh to our process.”
The Cardinals are in reset mode after finishing with a 4-13 record, firing coach Jonathan Gannon and releasing franchise quarterback Kyler Murray.
Making the playoffs next season might appear to be a tough task considering last season’s lack of success. But for Ossenfort — who is now in his fourth season — significant improvement might be needed in 2026.
Ossenfort said his job status wouldn’t affect his mindset heading into the draft.
“We’re always looking to be the most competitive we can be this year,” Ossenfort said. “And there’s always a long-term aspect to roster building as well. We have a challenging division. We have the Super Bowl champs, the team that was playing to go to the Super Bowl and a team in the final eight. It’s a meat grinder of a division, but we wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Quarterback options
The Cardinals have two solid veteran quarterbacks in Jacoby Brissett and the recently signed Gardner Minshew. Both have starting experience in the NFL, but both are widely seen across the league as stopgap solutions who are better suited as quality backups.
In many drafts, the No. 3 pick would represent an opportunity to add a franchise quarterback. That’s not necessarily the case.
The Raiders are expected to take Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 selection and after he’s gone, there’s no consensus that a true first-round prospect at QB exists. Alabama’s Ty Simpson could be the next best option. If the Cardinals want to target him, they could trade down from the No. 3 pick, add another pick, and possibly still select Simpson.
Need
Paris Johnson Jr. has been a quality left tackle since the Cardinals selected him with the No. 6 overall pick in 2023. Now they need someone to complement him at right tackle, which has been a revolving door over the past few years. The defense could also use another elite pass rush threat to pair with Josh Sweat, who had a career-high 12 sacks after signing an $76.4 million, four-year deal last offseason.
Don’t need
The Cardinals have a franchise tight end in Trey McBride and good backups with Tip Reiman and Elijah Higgins. They’re also fairly deep at running backs after signing Tyler Allgeier to join James Conner and Trey Benson.
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