What could have been had the Cardinals kept their 23rd overall draft pick

The Arizona Cardinals pulled a draft-day trade out of left field when they acquired wide receiver Marquise Brown and No. 100 overall from the Baltimore Ravens for pick No. 23.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro let fans around the Valley know that the Cardinals would have drafted Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum if they were still on the clock.

“If they would have kept the pick and not made that trade, the selection would have been Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum,” Gambadoro said.

“They really liked the center out of Iowa. He was one of the highest-rated players they had.”

Linderbaum is a 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman who earned the Rimington Trophy in 2021, which recognizes the best center in the country.

He was an All-American as a junior this past year and started for three seasons on the Hawkeyes’ line.

The center was taken two selections later at No. 25 to the Ravens.

Baltimore originally moved into No. 23 with Brown’s departure but swapped back to No. 25 after trading with the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo went on to draft cornerback Kaiir Elam with No. 23 overall.

Arizona’s first selection in the draft heading into Day 2 sits at No. 55 overall. The second round selections begin at 4 p.m. on Friday.