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Monti Ossenfort explains the Cardinals' decision to stay at pick No. 3
Leading up the NFL Draft, many speculated that the Arizona Cardinals may try to trade down from their No. 3 selection.
Ultimately, the Cardinals opted to stick-and-pick and selected Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. And while Arizona ended up with one of the draft’s top talents, general manager Monti Ossenfort said that the reason for opting against a trade down wasn’t for a lack of trying.
“For this year, there wasn’t a ton of interest in people coming up to number three, and I don’t know why that was,” said Ossenfort on Sirius XM. “And you know every draft is different, and people have different motivations. Whenever you go into a draft, you have to be prepared to pick and you have to be prepared to have options, and if there’s no option you’re ready to pick a player.”
“Jeremiah was clearly the best option for us, so there was really nothing to consider when there weren’t a lot of calls coming in. Jeremiah was going to be our guy. We came to that conclusion in the five or six days before the draft, and then from there it was just waiting to wait for draft night to see if we would have any options, but we were excited to take him where we took him.”
Despite already having James Conner and newly signed running back Tyler Allgeier, the Cardinals took the top playmaker in the draft in Love. Based on Ossenfort’s comments, it seems that Arizona tried to explore a trade down, but a market never developed. While offensive tackle or quarterback were strong options for the Cardinals in round one, the inability to trade hampered those possibilities. Ultimately, they selected offensive lineman Chase Bisontis in the second-round and quarterback Carson Beck in the third.
Meanwhile, Love brings a home-run threat to a Cardinal offense that already features Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson. He figures to be the lead back in a crowded backfield, and is already a favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Love will be joined by third-round pick Carson Beck, who has a real shot at some playing time as a rookie. Projected starter Jacoby Brissett is unhappy with his current deal, and if the Cardinals can’t come to an agreement, he might be on his way out. And while the Cardinals haven’t come out and said Beck is their quarterback of the future, head coach Mike LaFleur thinks there is a lot to like.
“He’s a big, solid dude,” LaFleur said after the draft. “I mean, he’s 6-foot-4, he’s 235 pounds. He looks the part, right? That doesn’t mean that that’s the end all be all by any means. Natural thrower, he’s tough.
“I think one of the coolest things about him, especially after being around him… He’s been through those big games, but he’s been through some adversity, too. That’s well-documented, it’s out there. And I think he’s gotten better from it.”
Trevor Ripley Trevor Ripley is a Heavy writer covering the Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals. More about Trevor Ripley
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