Here’s who we think the Cardinals should draft in the 1st round

Everyone thought the Arizona Cardinals would be hoping their No. 16 overall pick in this NFL Draft would fix a talent-lacking front-seven.

Instead, free agency brought Arizona a star pass rusher in Josh Sweat, plus veteran starters Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson.

Priorities have changed for the Cardinals entering the first round of the draft on Thursday. So what players should Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort target? And which players specifically?

We asked our Arizona Sports show hosts and Cardinals experts what they’d do if they were in the GM’s shoes:

Who should the Cardinals draft in the first round and why?

Dan Bickley, co-host of Bickely & Marotta: The Cardinals should draft Tyler Booker in the first round of the NFL Draft. Because elite college guards are plug-and-play in the NFL, and Booker would have an immediate impact on the well-being of Kyler Murray. To the contrary, tackles often need some seasoning in the NFL.

But I willingly scrap this plan if Will Johnson is available, a cornerback from Michigan who would be a perfect complement to Garrett Williams.

John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo: The Cardinals need to target OL in the first round. They addressed quite a few needs on the DL in free agency with the additions of Sweat, Tomlinson and Campbell now it is time to find more protection for the passing game and more holes for the running game.

Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo: Offensive Line. “Must” is a little strong but the need to find young foundational building blocks on the most important unit on the field is constant. Simply put, you can’t have enough of them and as it stands now the Cardinals could use more. They certainly could use another young tackle to anchor the right side of the line for future years. It would seem based on what is thought of this draft that there is a pretty steep drop-off after the first round or so; the Cards would be wise to get their guy early and load up on the deeper positions later.

Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta: I don’t think there is a clear-cut answer for this question. I believe the Cardinals’ biggest area of need is at offensive guard, but the scuttlebutt is that Booker from Alabama (the best guard in the draft) could be available later in the first round or even the second round.

If Ossenfort is willing to move down, as he did two years ago, getting Booker later makes more sense. If the Cardinals stay put at No. 16, getting a rangy corner probably makes the most sense. 

Ron Wolfley, co-host of Wolf & Luke: The Cardinals don’t HAVE to draft any position. Ossenfort has done an excellent job of rounding out the roster, reducing the NEED to draft any position in the first round.

Having said this, I’d like to see the Cardinals draft an offensive lineman in the first round.

The line of scrimmage (LOS) is where the game of football is won and lost. Offensively, you need your talent, your skill positions, to shine. The only way that is going to happen is if you have an offensive line that is good enough to consistently open holes in the defensive front, and to consistently protect a quarterback from hurt, harm and happenstance.

Booker or Kelvin Banks Jr. or Grey Zabel, in that order, would be my preference. The Cardinals offense is predicated on running the ball first and protecting Kyler Murray. And the best way to protect Kyler is to be good at running the ball and better in play-action. An interior offensive lineman will help Big Red do both.

Luke Lapinski, co-host of Wolf & Luke: The best part about this draft is there really is no position the Cardinals absolutely have to target in the first round. Offensive line makes the most sense, depending how confident they are in Isaiah Adams right now and Jonah Williams long term. They could go with a guy like Kelvin Banks Jr., have him play on the interior in 2025 and then eventually move him out to tackle a year or two from now, or they could just go with a pure guard like Booker.

They could also double down on defense too though, and I definitely wouldn’t be mad about that. Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis has already shown a propensity to get the most out of his guys, and Ossenfort was pretty aggressive on that side of the ball in free agency. If they took another defensive lineman or edge rusher, this group could evolve into something formidable. To me, that’s how to build this team now — lean into the defense and assemble a unit that can win you games almost singlehandedly. That way you don’t get buried if Murray has an off game, but you’re lined up for a win pretty much every time he and the offense put up a few touchdowns.

This draft’s pretty deep along the defensive front, so they could probably just attack that in the second round. And the beauty of the Cardinals being aggressive in free agency is it allows them the freedom to go into the draft with a plan but easily pivot to a guy like Michigan’s Johnson or even Texas receiver Matthew Golden if someone who probably shouldn’t be available at No. 16 slips down the draft board to them.

Tyler Drake, Cardinals reporter and co-host of Cardinals Corner: After addressing the defense in a big way this offseason, it’s time to target some another offensive lineman of the future in the first round of the draft. And for me, it comes down to three names:

1. Tyler Booker
2. Josh Simmons
3. Donovan Jackson

If Arizona can come out of the first round with any of these three, I would consider Thursday to be a big win for Ossenfort.

Guard remains one of the biggest needs this offseason for the Cardinals. Evan Brown is locked into one of the guard spots (most likely left) after a strong first season in Arizona. Isaiah Adams also figures to be in the mix to start. Beyond those names, though, things get murky. Booker or Jackson would eliminate that thought in an instant and would give the room added competition.

As for Simmons, he would give Arizona another cornerstone tackle opposite Paris Johnson Jr., who played with the rookie at Ohio State.

There’s that Buckeye connection both Simmons and Jackson have to new OL coach Justin Frye that can’t be forgotten, too.

Mitch Vareldzis, co-host of Arizona Sports at Night: Cornerback. Doesn’t have to be at No. 16 overall, but if Will Johnson (for example) is there? TAKE HIM.

Here is the outside cornerbacks room of the Arizona Cardinals as of Wednesday:

– Sean Murphy-Bunting
– Starling Thomas V
– Jaylon Jones
– Max Melton
– Elijah Jones
– Kei’Trel Clark
– Ekow Boye-Doe

Do you think any of those names make defensive coordinators shiver with malcontent having to gameplan around them?

A Day 1 starting cornerback who eliminates 25% of the field should be of top priority! If nothing else, it increases competition in what I see to be a weak room.

Yes, Thomas is a nice story of find and develop. Yes, Melton really flourished as the season went on. But Murphy-Bunting was too injured and too much of a liability in important games. Clark really fell off in Year 2 to the point of being exclusively a special teamer, and Elijah Jones missed the entirety of last year due to a heel injury.

It just is not a room that gives me a lot of confidence heading into this next season.

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