‘There’s been a little more action:’ Trade calls picking up for Cardinals’ No. 4 draft pick

TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort’s phone wasn’t ringing all that much at the NFL Draft Combine.

Fast forward to Wednesday — a week removed from the first wave of free agency — and that’s no longer the case regarding the Cardinals, who hold the No. 4 pick.

“There’s been a little bit more action. I’d say those phone calls are starting to pick up a little bit,” Ossenfort said Wednesday. “I would say they’ll continue into next week when we go down to Florida for the owners’ meetings.

“Most teams are in a similar spot as us and trying to finalize their boards. The pro day piece is kind of the final on-field piece for evaluation purposes. … Honestly, they probably won’t get real serious until we get right up to the week of the draft, similar to last year. They have picked up, but I would expect that to continue here for the next month.”

“There’s been a little bit more action.”

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort said the phone lines have been starting to pick up ahead of the NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/Vfkf9UqJmj

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 20, 2024

Cardinals’ Monti Ossenfort always down to listen to trade offers

The phone may be ringing more than it has, but just how inclined is Ossenfort to picking it up when it comes down to Arizona’s No. 4 pick or any of the other 10 draft selections at his disposal?

Ossenfort may not have a big neon sign outside Arizona’s training facility in Tempe that reads “open for business” — blinking lights hurt his eyes — but figurately, it’s already lit up.

The general manager’s comments to reporters on Wednesday only add to the brightness.

“We’re always going to be listening. We’ll always have the conversation,” Ossenfort said.

“We may not get to the point where a deal makes sense, whether that’s at No. 4 or anywhere we’re picking, but we’re always going to have the conversation and if it makes sense and it’s attractive to building our team, it’s something that we’ll certainly consider no matter where we’re at in the draft.”

There are many ways the Cardinals can go about using their fourth overall pick. They can opt to land one of the top three wide receiver prospects this draft class — led by Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. — or look to add draft capital or talent in a trade-down.

Also don’t rule out them potentially looking at deals, either up or down, for their second first-round pick at No. 27 overall, which was acquired in a draft day trade with the Houston Texans last year.

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