The Arizona Cardinals are in the final stages of preparation for the upcoming NFL draft, focusing extensively on internal mock simulations. General Manager Monti Ossenfort and his team are evaluating potential scenarios for their 16th overall pick, aiming to avoid second-guessing the decisions made when building their draft board.
Their approach involves examining a multitude of permutations derived from conversations within league circles and consultations with available mock drafts. NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, with previous experience in front office situations, noted the importance for general managers to have an overview of the player range projections, despite the impossibility of predicting precise player selections.
“They’re not going to adjust how they rank their own players, but what happens is everybody has a different board,” said Jeremiah. According to him, understanding league-wide evaluations is crucial for strategic patience, especially when a highly ranked player is perceived less favorably by others.
Jeremiah added, “I’ve been on teams where we’ve picked at, like, say we’ve picked 22, and we’ve taken our ninth best player at 22. I’ve been on teams where we’ve picked in that same range, say the same number, 22, and we’ve got our 21st player. We just got wiped out. Like, wiped out completely.”
Such insights are instrumental in shaping trade strategies and determining whether aggressive moves are necessary to secure desired players or if patience will suffice.
“They’re not adjusting their ranking,” continued Jeremiah. “They’re just trying to figure out if there’s a chance they could get one of their premier, premier players and move up.”
While it remains speculative what kind of mock scenarios the Cardinals are considering, these preparatory exercises provide valuable foresight ahead of draft day.
