The Arizona Cardinals have put a lot of pressure on themselves to deliver the goods in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. The team is very clearly rebuilding, but to this point, they have had a very quiet offseason. As a result, the front office needs to nail each of their seven picks in the upcoming draft in order to give themselves the best possible shot at accelerating their rebuild.
Arizona is entering the draft with one pick in each of the seven rounds, with the best of the bunch being the No. 3 overall selection in the first round. What the Cardinals do with this selection will likely determine how the rest of the draft unfolds for them, and according to a new report, it sounds like the team is looking to move off of this pick.
Cardinals Reportedly Looking to Trade No. 3 Overall Pick
Arizona is switching things up this offseason, as it has already moved on from longtime quarterback Kyler Murray and hired Mike LaFleur to come in and be its new head coach. The roster needs work, which is why the team’s plan for the No. 3 overall pick is so important. The Cardinals could land a de facto Week 1 contributor at this spot, or it could flip it and acquire some more draft capital.
Even if Arizona were to stay put, the player the team has been most heavily linked to is Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa. After quarterback Fernando Mendoza, though, many of the top players available in this draft class are on the defensive side of the ball. The Cardinals certainly need help in this department, but it’s not as if this team is one player away from being a championship contender.
It’s pretty clear that the front office would be better off trading the No. 3 pick to add some extra draft capital, both in this year’s and next year’s drafts. And according to NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, that’s precisely what it sounds like they are looking to do, as the Cardinals are among the teams looking to move down the board in the first round.
“Teams starting to work phones for trades up/down,” Fowler wrote in a post on X. “Belief in league circles is that Arizona (3), Tennessee (4) both open to moving back.”
Should the Cardinals Trade the No. 3 Overall Pick?
GettyArizona Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort.
The main issue for the Cardinals is that moving the No. 3 pick could prove difficult, largely because there aren’t many teams looking to move up the board. The Dallas Cowboys are a team that is looking to make a trade up, but are they going to be willing to give up what it takes to pry this pick out of Arizona’s hands?
Make no mistake, the Cardinals could benefit from standing pat and adding a top-tier prospect at this spot, so they aren’t going to unload this pick just for the sake of doing so. However, getting rid of the No. 3 pick appears to be a primary goal for the front office, and it looks like Arizona will be a team worth keeping close tabs on over the next few days.
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