The departure of Head Coach Jonathan Gannon signals another failed season for the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals finished the 2025 season with a disappointing 3-14 record, which tied for the league’s worst.
General Manager Monti Ossenfort is leading a complete roster restoration in Arizona. The Cardinals have elected to move on from franchise stalwart Kyler Murray as they work through their upcoming rebuild.
As is often the case with teams drafting within the top five, Arizona could improve at several positions across the board. Ossenfort will need to weaponize his selections to address a few key needs but will likely take a “best player available” approach for much of the 2026 draft.
Cardinals Draft Picks:
- Round 1: Pick 3
- Round 2: Pick 34
- Round 3: Pick 65
- Round 4: Pick 104
- Round 5: Pick 143
- Round 6: Pick 183
- Round 7: Pick 217
Arizona must strike pay dirt on several of these selections to remain competitive in the highly talented NFC West. New head coach, Mike LaFleur, enters a division where each of his opponents has participated in an NFC championship game in the last three years.
Cardinals Positions of Need:
These positions in particular should be addressed in the upcoming draft if the Cardinals want to be competitive:
- EDGE
- RT
- CB
Key Draft Targets for Cardinals:
David Bailey – EDGE – Texas Tech
Good football teams find a way to get after the quarterback. The Cardinals are in a prime position to draft this year’s top pass rusher with the third overall pick to pair with Josh Sweat.
Bailey projects to be a surefire top-10 pick and is going as high as No. 2 on some draft boards. Ossenfort must avoid overthinking here and take the best athlete on the board.
Max Iheanachor – OT – Arizona State
Arizona doesn’t need to search too far from home to find a high-upside OT to build upon their struggling offensive line. The Sun Devil sophomore offers remarkable upside as one of the top offensive line prospects in this year’s class, despite his limited experience.
Iheanachor goes off the board by the end of the first round in many mock drafts, due to the desire for OT play, so if Arizona can snag him at No. 34, that would be a win.
Davison Igbinosun – CB – Ohio State
Arizona may be tempted to pursue a QB in this draft and conventional wisdom would support that logic. However, this team must create an environment where a QB can thrive first.
Igbinosun is an experienced player, with 53 career starts, coming from a culture of winning at Ohio State. PFF has Igbinosun graded as their 68th overall prospect; he should be going right in the range of the Cardinals’ third selection.
This is a player that can change organizational culture. Arizona would be wise to select Igbinosun if they get the chance.
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