Keim should trade up only if Cardinals can get Smith or Waddle

The Cardinals need a cornerstone cornerback. They need a wide receiver with game-changing speed. Five of those players are available in the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft.

All of them will be gone by the No. 16 overall pick.

Welcome to Steve Keim’s latest dilemma. For the second consecutive offseason, the Cardinals general manager has delivered sizzling acquisitions under intense scrutiny. He has imported a number of household names to Arizona, including the megawatt profile of J.J. Watt.

Once, there was general consensus that the 2021 season was make-or-break for the current regime. That both Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury would be fired and replaced if the Cardinals fail to make the playoffs.

I think Keim has changed the calculus. His shrewd pursuit of marquee players and his spot-on analysis of what failed this team in 2020 (leadership and physicality) have restored a level of confidence in the team’s GM, so much that he can achieve the unthinkable:

He could last 10 years with the same organization despite potentially hiring four different head coaches. But that only happens if Keim turns around his wretched draft day legacy, doing something productive and competent with his diminished hand.

Keim has six selections in the next few days, but half of them occur after pick No. 220. Meanwhile, trading up to secure an elite cornerback or wide receiver would significantly lessen their draft capital for next year’s draft, as well. And which side of the ball would be best to justify that kind of investment?

Keim hasn’t shown much touch when it comes to drafting wide receivers, although he may have something of an alibi with the diminutive Andy Isabella. For whatever reason, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill was caught on tape asking Kingsbury whom he preferred prior to Isabella’s selection two years ago, seemingly subverting Keim’s area of expertise.

The NFL draft is notorious for first-round busts and disappointments. Imagine how much smoother things could be if owners stayed out of war rooms.

This much is certain: The Texans’ offense flourished when surrounding DeAndre Hopkins with speedy receivers. The Cardinals need a receiver who can run and catch, a wide receiver who can catch and run. They will never get in range of LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase, but they could move up to snag Alabama’s Devonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle.

They could also move up to secure Patrick Surtain II or Jaycee Horn, but that’s not Keim’s best play. Cornerback is more of a long-term concern than a short-term fix in Arizona, and there’s no immediate need that requires the loss of a first-round pick in 2022.

Remember, the Cardinals are a team full of older, veteran performers. The organization is betting that the tanks aren’t empty on any number of recently-signed players. They have pushed all their chips to the center of the table.

Keim should move up, but only for a wide receiver. And I cross my fingers that he targets the right kid from Alabama. Because the biggest issue facing this team is elevating the offense, a unit that was both erratic and dysfunctional by the end of the 2020 season. And because Keim has no margin for error or mulligans remaining when it comes to the NFL Draft.

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