Arizona Cardinals locked into 3rd overall pick in 2023 NFL Draft

The Arizona Cardinals finished the season at 4-13 after losing to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18. The Cardinals’ seven straight loss wraps up a season of failing to meet expectations but was an important one for the sake of draft positioning.

With the defeat in the team’s season finale on Sunday, Arizona is locked into the third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Before the loss, the Cardinals were a lock to get a top-six pick.

The first selection of the 2023 NFL Draft belongs to the Chicago Bears at 3-14 after leapfrogging the Houston Texans, who now hold the second overall pick at 3-13-1.

Garnering the third overall pick could prove to be pivotal for a Cardinals team looking to get back to relevancy.

Most NFL mock drafts project Alabama outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. and Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter as two of the best three or four prospects in this year’s class. Those mocks also see an early run on quarterbacks, with Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Kentucky’s Will Levis gone by the time the top-five wraps up in some scenarios.

Here is a look at the draft order for picks 1-6:

2023 NFL Draft order (after Week 18)

Pick	Team	Record	Strength of schedule
1	Chicago Bears	3-14	.572
2	Houston Texans	3-13-1	.481
3	Arizona Cardinals	4-13	.529
4	Indianapolis Colts	4-12-1	.512
5	Seattle Seahawks (via Denver Broncos)	5-12	.481
6	Detroit Lions (via Los Angeles Rams)	5-12	.519

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