PHX Reporter

The phone calls that come during the NFL draft are something Monti Ossenfort enjoys. "It's cool," the general manager of the Arizona Cardinals remarked on Wednesday during a pre-draft press conference he held with coach Jonathan Gannon. Gannon equated the anticipation in the draft room to the emotions felt before a game's kickoff.

Ossenfort, in his first Cardinals draft in 2023, notes that while the conversations remain similar, his ability to anticipate them has grown. "You learn maybe when a certain team calls, who is more serious and you can kind of gauge what kind of call it'll be when you see the caller ID," Ossenfort said. He added, "You kind of know what (offer) is coming, whether it's good, bad or ridiculous."

Next week's draft sees the Cardinals picking 16th in the first round, lower compared to their third and fourth draft positions in the past two years. With only six selections this year, which is half the number they had in 2024, Ossenfort emphasized he was not going into the draft determined to acquire additional selections. However, he did not rule out the possibility of attempting it, after executing six trades in his first two drafts, five of which were to move down and accumulate more draft capital.

"We have to be ready," Ossenfort stated. "The only way to be ready for those situations is to do the work. We have six picks right now. Will we end up with more than that? Less than that? I don't know."

Trading down, especially in the first round, requires finding a team willing to trade up. In this year's draft, that might prove challenging, as no first-round pick has yet been traded, a rarity since the common era draft began in 1967. If no trade occurs before the Titans are on the clock, it will be the first time since 2014 that a first-round pick will have remained unchanged from the start of the league year to the draft's opening.

The primary issues are the weaker quarterback class, which typically fuels first-round trades, and the perception that the talent gap between the top 25 players is relatively minor, barring the top five or six. "Those things are always hard to predict," Ossenfort said. "There is always going to be movement of some sort. We have to wait and see."

For 24 consecutive drafts, at least one team has traded into or within the top 15 picks. As for which position the Cardinals might target with their first pick, nothing is certain given the possibilities of different scenarios unfolding before their turn. Despite bolstering their defensive line during free agency, Ossenfort did not dismiss the possibility of selecting from that position. "If we can add an impact player, and he checks boxes on and off the field, it's never going to be a bad pick," Ossenfort noted.