The Cardinals are in the best spot of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Arizona Cardinals hold the keys to the 2024 NFL Draft with pick No. 4. With the draft less than a week away, it seems almost certain that quarterbacks will go one, two, three. That means if another team wants that fourth and final elite QB prospect or the top non-QB on the board, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., they’ll have to trade up with the Cardinals to get him. And it seems like the Cardinals are totally OK with that, as long as a team comes with the right offer.
“Something worth watching: If the #AZCardinals trade out of 4, LT is a huge priority to protect Kyler Murray. They could potentially get more draft capital while still being assured of an elite tackle later in the 1st.,” Bleacher Report NFL insider Jordan Schultz tweeted on Friday. “CB is the other key target position – could be the first time the Cards take a corner in the Round 1 since Patrick Peterson in 2011.”
“Lots of options for the #AZCardinals, who currently hold both the 4th and 27th picks. I believe it’s going to take a pretty significant haul to leave 4, but it’s still a possibility,” Schultz added in a second tweet. “Expecting them to add another OL and address corner sooner than later. Arizona has 11 total picks.”
All this means that the Cardinals couldn’t be in a better spot right now. At worst, the team stays where it is and takes one of the best pass-catching prospects in years, which is something Kyler Murray and the Cardinals need in this 2024 NFL Draft.
At best, Arizona moves down a few spots, gets one of the two best left tackles in the draft, and picks up more picks this year and a team’s 2025 first-rounder at least. This year’s class is especially deep at tackle and receiver, so the Cards could easily double-dip on those positions when they add to the 11 selections they already own.
What the Cardinals can do at the 2024 NFL Draft to help Kyler Murray
The Cardinals made their big offseason decision already when they chose to keep Kyler Murray at quarterback. With that big question mark out of the way, now the team must decide how to best help the QB succeed.
Getting a starting tackle is a good first step. Last season, D.J. Humphries (51st) and rookie Paris Johnson Jr. (57th) ranked in the bottom-middle of the 81 qualified tackles, per PFF. The team signed Jonah Williams (59th) this offseason, but they could still use a bookend of the future.
If the team does trade back to, let’s say sixth, with the New York Giants so that the G Men can go up and get JJ McCarthy, that would put the Cardinals in a nice position to get Notre Dame OT Joe Alt or Penn State OT Olu Fashanu.
After that, as Schultz suggests, the team could go address defense and take a cornerback at the back end of the first round with the pick they got from the Houston Texans last year when the Texans decided to draft Will Anderson Jr. right after taking CJ Stroud.
With pick No. 35 the team could go back for its wide receiver as there will still be several intriguing prospects on the board. This includes players like Georgia’s Ladd McConkey, Michigan’s Roman Wilson, Florida State’s Keon Coleman, and South Carolina’s Xavier Legette.
