The Cardinals weren’t expecting to have a pick this high in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft. A team with Super Bowl expectations missed the playoffs and finds itself with the No. 13 pick.
Head coach Bruce Arians suggests that the Cardinals could draft earlier than that, mentioning the possibility of trading up.
“It could be a really fun draft,” Arians told NFL.com Wednesday at the Annual League Meeting.
The Cardinals have some leverage to give up mid-round picks in a trade knowing that they’re in line to receive compensatory picks in next year’s draft because of the free agents they’ve lost this year.
The exodus of Calais Campbell, Tony Jefferson, Kevin Minter and D.J. Swearinger creates a need at all three levels of their defense. The defensively challenged Saints sit at No. 11 and could take a defender who’s on the Cardinals’ radar. The Bills at No. 10 could be a willing trade partner because they have just six picks and could move down three spots to get a seventh pick.
If the Cardinals want to draft a successor to Carson Palmer, they might not have to move up that far. They’ve been linked to Patrick Mahomes in several mock drafts, but the Browns might plan to use the No. 12 pick on a quarterback if they draft Myles Garrett No. 1. If Mahomes is really the quarterback the Cardinals want, leapfrogging the Browns on the board would be a good idea just to be safe.
No matter what the Cardinals do on draft day, they’ll do it with the purpose of not drafting this high next year.
About Mike Batista
Mike is a longtime NFL analyst and Steelers fan. He currently writes for Steelers Addicts, and has also written for Bleacher Report.
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