Trust The Process: The Arizona Cardinals Are Playing Chess While Everyone Else Is Playing Checkers

Andy Lyons. Getty Images.

The Cardinals made a very interesting move on Thursday night by trading down from the 3rd overall pick all the way to #12 and allowing the Texans to move up. 

In that deal, the Cardinals moved down nine spots and gave up a 2nd round pick. However, they got back a 1st round pick. But not just any 1st round pick, they got back the Houston Texans 1st round pick..

Their 1st year GM Monti Ossenfort has already shown a propensity for moving both up and down the board.

In fact, he moved back up from #12 to #6 to get their guy in Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr. 

He did so without giving up any future assets aside from a 2nd round pick. They also had the 33rd pick and ended up flipping that for a future 3rd along with a few swaps this year.

So they've loaded up on future assets and their franchise QB, Kyler Murray is hurt. He tore his ACL in December and due back sometime mid-season. But in making a way too early 2024 NFL Mock Draft, I noticed that the two biggest longshots to win the Super Bowl this coming season are the Cardinals and the Texans. So in my mock they will be picking #1 and #2. But remember, Arizona own's Houston's first selection next year. The Texans will pick in the 1st round, but it'll be Cleveland's pick from the Deshaun Watson trade. Monti Ossenfort and the Cardinals got Houston's own pick and that is a huge deal because they already have their Quarterback in Kyler Murray who they just signed to a big extension before he got hurt.

Next year's draft is projected at this point to be headlined by two Quarterbacks: USC's Caleb Williams and North Carolina's Drake May. That can all certainly change, but right now, we're looking at the Cardinals potentially having BOTH the top two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft and if Quarterbacks are still headlining the Draft next April, likely to trade both picks. As a reminder, this is what the 1st pick fetched this year:

The last time Quarterbacks went #1 and #2 and the 2nd overall pick was traded, here's what it fetched.

Based on these scenarios, the Cardinals could move down from #1 and #2 and move down to #8 & #9 and pick up an additional THREE additional 2nd round picks, a 3rd round pick, TWO future 1st round picks, and a good player like D.J. Moore.

Obviously that's a hypothetical, but something like this would be an unreal coup by Ossenfort who has been wildly impressive in his first year running a Draft. Rebuilding in the NFL is not typically a quick process and while I do think the Cardinals will be stink this year, buy all the Cardinals stock you can now because they are firmly on the way back up.