Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort made the right move in trading No. 3 overall pick
Cardinals General Manager Monti Ossenfort played his cards right by trading the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The bottom line is that Ossenfort added a guy in Paris Johnson Jr., who should be able to contribute right away on an offensive line that needs all the help it can get, and he added picks next year, which will be even more important since he’ll have had a season to better evaluate his roster.
Going into the draft on Thursday night, Ossenfort had glaring needs for corners, edge rushers, interior defensive linemen and offensive linemen, plus he needed depth at running back, linebacker and safety.
In one sense, he could do no wrong.
But when the cupboard is that bare, it’s silly to spend all your money on one steak dinner … especially if there’s no guarantee that it’s going to be good.
That’s how it is with the draft; it’s impossible to predict with much accuracy.
Sometimes, first-round round picks get bounced out of the league. (Like former Arizona quarterback Josh Rosen.)
Good luck tracking the details. The Cardinals traded down from No. 3 to No. 12 then back up to No. 6, and they got a second-round pick, plus traded a second-round pick, and they got a first- and third-round pick next year. (And don’t get me started on the tampering situation with the Eagles that has Arizona swapping third-round picks and giving up a fifth-round pick in 2024.)
Sometimes, guys last-round guys take their team to the Super Bowl. (Or in the case of Gilbert Perry star Brock Purdy, they get pretty close.)
Some years, running backs go early. (Like when Saquon Barkley went second just a few months after starring in the Fiesta Bowl.)
Some years, guys who come out of the backfield have to wait a bit. (Like this year with Tucson Salpointe Catholic star Bijan Robinson who went to Atlanta at No. 8.)
It’s best to have as many picks as possible in any given year, but that’s even more true in the face of a complete rebuild, which it’s clear that the Cardinals are facing.
New GM? New coach? Injured QB? Retired stars? Stalwarts asking for trades?
It’s possible that Johnson will be a bust, but if the Cardinals ended up with more selections than they started with, Ossenfort made the right move … that’s even more true if Johnson turns out to be great.
Arizona needed all the picks it could get, and it looks like Ossenfort played his cards right.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals made the right move trading No. 3 overall pick in NFL Draft
