The Arizona Cardinals would like to trade down from the #3 pick in the NFL Draft. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody with access to Wi-Fi after weeks of speculation and General Manager Monti Ossenfort outright declaring that “our phones will be open for any team that desires to move up” at the Combine.

The team is in dire need of help at multiple positions so putting themselves in the position to select more potential difference makers, both this year and next, feels like the right move for the Cardinals even if that puts them out of contention for the crème de la crème of this class.

While news of the Houston Texans also being open to trading back with a team looking to take a quarterback might hinder the team’s chances of bagging themselves the best deal, it would be a major shock if the Cardinals actually make a selection with the #3 pick on Thursday night. For what it’s worth, I’m not buying the noise out of Houston.

If they can secure a worthwhile deal to trade back, who could be on Monti Ossenfort’s radar?

Staying in the Top 10 (Colts, Raiders, Falcons, Bears)

It would be a coup if Ossenfort could scare the QB-needy Colts into jumping to the third pick and then grab Will Anderson Jr. though that seems like an unlikely scenario. If you need any last minute information on Anderson or just want to reminisce on what could have been, we’ve got you covered here.

A more likely outcome is either the Raiders or Falcons coming up to snatch a QB ahead of the Colts. There is a possibility that Chicago gets the hots for a particular offensive lineman as well and they certainly have the capital to sweeten the deal for the Cardinals.

Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois (5’11”, 181lbs)

Devon Witherspoon puts the DW in DAWG. He’s going to be a wide receivers worst nightmare in the NFL because he batters people. You might catch the ball but you might catch these hands in the process. His former Head Coach Lovie Smith said that he was “probably the toughest guy on the team pound-for-pound, no one competes harder than him.

He plays cornerback like Budda Baker plays safety, with the same lack of care for his personal wellbeing. It’s kill or be killed football when Witherspoon is on the field. Watch him decimate Indiana running back Shaun Shivers here.

Witherspoon isn’t simply an aggressive wildman though. He’s an incredibly intelligent football player who identifies routes with ease which puts him in prime position to make plays on the ball. He only gave up 1 pass in press coverage in 2022, with 17 passes defended and 3 interceptions without giving up a single touchdown.

The 22-year-old also offers outside and inside versatility having played in both roles at Illinois

However, this past year was his only year of real production (just 14 PD and 2 INTs in the three years before) and his physical style could be heavily punished in the NFL – Witherspoon gave away 11 combined penalties across his junior and senior seasons.

If the Cardinals end up with Witherspoon, they would have a permanent #1 CB with the swagger and dogged determinedness to usher in a new era in the Valley.

Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon (6’1”, 197 lbs)

Christian Gonzalez becoming an Arizona Cardinal would be a real family affair on draft night as his brother-in-law is the team’s current back-up QB David Blough.

Though wholesome, that is not what makes Gonzalez a promising candidate for the Cardinals, but rather his acute understanding of the cornerback position and his outstanding athletic profile.

Everything that the 20-year-old does looks effortless. If Witherspoon plays with a fire in his soul then Gonzalez epitomises the Bruce Lee mantra of “be water”. He’s remarkably smooth and fluid which is best highlighted when he needs to turn. That’s further shown in his composure when he is bypassed by a receiver, he doesn’t panic or get grabby, but calmly pursues his target.

In the run game, Gonzalez is a top-tier tackler from a technique point of view, already mastering the process of getting low to take people down rather than just hitting a moving target.

Athletically, Gonzalez is tailor made to play at corner. He recorded a 4.38 40, an 11’1” broad jump and a 41 ½ inch vertical at the Combine. Those numbers show up on tape as he can often be seen using his leaping ability to cover a lot of airspace when defending against the pass.

Where Gonzalez needs to improve is, ironically given his closest competition for the #1 CB spot in this class, in his aggression. His calmness does cost him at times – he gave up 39 catches on 64 targets this year and that could’ve been cut in half if he had a bit more OOMPH to his game rather than pawing at balls.

Frankly, if you could smash Witherspoon and Gonzalez together into one player, you’d have a potential all-time great on your hands.

Tyree Wilson, EDGE, Texas Tech (6’5”, 271 lbs)

Tyree Wilson is like Marmite, you’re either going to love him or hate him as a Top 10 pick. There are major positives and negatives to his game that will swing fans, analysts and teams one way or the other.

First off, Wilson is an abnormal human being. He is built like a fucking Marvel character. 6 foot 5 and 270+ pounds of pure beefcake. His 86 inch wingspan has given him a weapon that most other EDGE defenders simply do not possess, making him capable of swiping down offensive players when rushing the passer and in the run game. He has true game-wrecking ability.

A three-year starter at Texas Tech, Wilson led the team in tackles for loss and sacks in both his junior and senior seasons with his 22.3% pass-rush win rate ranking in the top 10 in the FBS for 2022. Though it isn’t as simple as comparing the data, Will Anderson’s pass-rush win rate in 2022 was 20.4%.

Wilson uses those long-ass levers to smash through tackles and might have the best highlight package of any defensive player in this draft.

Where people will fall short on the former Texas A+M defender is that whoever picks him up is not buying a finished article or even someone close to that.

He’s guilty of coming off the ball upright and tall which is going to equal a huge learning curve in the NFL where he’s going to face tackles who are as big, bad and strong as he is. As anyone who has watched Wilson’s tape will tell you, he was the last player in the Aggies defensive front to react to the snap on almost every down. You can’t afford to give away those valuable half-steps in the NFL.

That lack of instinct can also harm him in run defense – it’s a good job those arms are long enough to make up for his inconsistencies.

You’d hope that with strong NFL-level coaching, like that which he may receive from Jonathan Gannn, Nick Rallis and co., that those inefficiencies could be cleaned up as well as adding more nuance to his pass-rush toolbox.

The upside is exciting. The work that must go into achieving that might be too scary for a brand-new GM making his first draft pick.

Peter Skoronski, G/T, Northwestern (6’4”, 313 lbs)

Despite not playing a single snap at guard in his three year stint at Northwestern, Peter Skoronski is the best guard prospect in this class and that is not a dig at the rest of the interior guys who will be entering the league.

The 21-year-old started 33 games at LT for Northwestern, stepping into the shoes of Rashawn Slater, performing magnificently as he posted 80+ PFF grades in each of his three seasons. He allowed just 5 sacks across his college career (facing 1258 pass-blocking snaps in that time) by showcasing elite handwork to negate powerful rushers and lightning fast feet to combat the speedier ones. Skoronski was the only offensive tackle in college football with 830+ snaps to give up six or fewer pressures in 2022.

His technique when hand-fighting has made up for the less than ideal arm length expected of NFL tackles (32 ¼ inches) and the grandson of 2 x Super Bowl winner Bob Skoronski has displayed the football acumen to answer any question posed by rushers by always being one step ahead.

When Skoronski gets hold of a defensive opponent, he is arguably the best finisher in the class and does so without overcommitting and losing balance.

Those quick feet have also made the All-American a talent in run-blocking, able to short pull, long pull and trap with the best of them.

While his arm length might knock him down boards, he may get the chance to test himself at tackle in the NFL because his technique is top drawer. However a move to guard could see him equal the impact his Grandfather had in the league and LG is a position of need for the Cardinals.

If Skoronski was to enter the Cardinals offensive line room, he would immediately improve the protection afforded to Kyler Murray whose on-field success will be underpinned by the quality of the interior OL in front of him. It’s not hard to see a world where Peter Skoronski is Kyler Murray’s best layer of protection for the rest of the quarterback’s career.

Moving Outside of the Top 10 (Titans, Texans, Commanders)

While the Cardinals may be concerned about trading out the top 10 depending on how their board is configured, it would certainly represent the most lucrative option in terms of compensation.

The most likely candidates would be the Titans (#11) though there has been talks of Houston (#12), New England (#14) and Washington (#16) also eyeing the #3 overall pick.

Just bumping out of the Top 10 to #11 or #12 may mean some of the above targets are still available but it could also mean they’re all already off the board which would mean turning to the next tier of players.

Lukas Van Ness, EDGE, Iowa, (6’5”, 272 lbs)

It’s odd to champion a player who didn’t start a single game at college as a Top-20 pick but Iowa is a weird place where starting priority is given to seniors even if there is a monstrous leviathan defensive end waiting to be unleashed on the bench.

John Waggoner and Joe Evans were Iowa’s starting DEs in 2022 but Lukas Van Ness actually played more defensive snaps than the pair and he led the Hawkeyes in tackles for loss (11) and sacks (6.5).

An incredibly powerful young man who was nicknamed Hercules by teammates, Van Ness lined up as an edge rusher and inside over the B-gap in Iowa’s four man front, so will offer versatility at the next level. His strength and burst (he recorded a 1.64 split in his Combine 40) will have defensive coordinators drooling at the thought of him penetrating offensive lines.

For someone of his size and frame, his fluidity is baffling and there are nearly as many clips of him chasing down runners as there is bull-rushing through tackles to pressurise the quarterback.

The main area for concern with Van Ness is the same issues facing Tyree Wilson. There is a significant lack of polish that will be exposed by more experienced tackles and in that sense he’s even more raw of a prospect than Wilson.

Van Ness also suffers from having only clocked two seasons of college football as he plays with a reckless abandon that leaves him out of control. I’ve seen Wilson be described as a “bull in a china shop” during this draft cycle but that is a far more fitting tag for LVN.

Myles Murphy, EDGE, Clemson (6’4”, 268 lbs)

The forgotten man of the top-tier EDGE rushers in this class, I can’t help but feel Myles Murphy will be the player we look back on in four years’ time and say “How on Earth did he go after THOSE GUYS?”.

A national standout in 2021 after posting 14 TFLs and 7 sacks as he led Clemson in those categories and forced fumbles, only Will Anderson Jr. could rival Murphy’s draft stock at the position last summer.

Coming in #3 in Bruce Feldman’s 2022 CFB Freak List which ranks players based on athletic traits and physical profiles, Murphy ticks every box for an NFL-ready defensive end on that front – he has an 81 inch wingspan, 33 ¾ inch arms and flies upfield despite his 268 pounds.

Possessing a devastating long-arm technique that puts linemen on skates and strength developed in the weight room (he can bench press 405 lbs) that directly carries over to the field, Murphy has a nose for the football which resulted in six career forced fumbles and violent hands when engaging with tackles that causes disruption even if it doesn’t always translate to production.

His production did drop this year as he finished 3^rd overall on the team with 34 pressures and had his least amount of TFLs in his 3-year college career (11) and there is rightful concern about his ceiling given his lack of a rounded pass-rushing toolbox. It’s essentially bullrush or bust and some of that comes from the hesitancy to make the most of his physical gifts.

There’s also some weight to the argument that just as Murphy’s play fell off after former DC Brent Venables left to become HC at Oklahoma so did the rest of Clemson’s defense. Working under Nick Rallis, considered to be one of the brightest young defensive minds in the game, could unlock the true Myles Murphy.

Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee (6’5”, 333 lbs)

Darnell Wright has some of the most enjoyable to watch tape in the entirety of the 2023 NFL Draft because he beats the piss out of people.

Seriously, finish this and then throw on some Darnell Wright highlights. He rags fully grown men around like they’re kids. When he’s blocking, Wright delivers a fully-extended punch that knocks the wind out of rushers and when he gets gripped onto a defender, he finishes with a comically violent flourish.

Even being a 330+ pound behemoth, Wright has enough quickness to shut down the corner and contend with speed rushers. He is the only tackle to essentially shutdown both Will Anderson Jr and BJ Ojulari and he thrived in big game situations – his best games in 2022 were against LSU, Alabama, Georgia and Clemson.

Another major plus for Wright is he is by far and away the best true right tackle in this draft. Paris Johnson and Broderick Jones might be taken higher, but switching tackles from left to right isn’t a guaranteed success just because they’ve excelled on one side of the line in college.

In terms of the Cardinals that might put Darnell Wright to the top of their OT board based purely on needs as DJ Humphries and Josh Jones are already on the roster to compete for the LT spot while Kelvin Beachum could be moved into a mentor role as the experienced RT turns 34 before the start of the season.

Wright will need that guidance to thrive at the next level as he did only have one year of quality output (2022) for Tennessee and has several issues to address. There are times when he sets himself too far ahead over his toes, leaving him off balance and that will be easily exploited in the NFL. There is also genuine concerns over his actual weight, with his impact lessening over the course of a game where it’s clear to see fatigue setting in.

Editors Note – I’m aware that I haven’t included Paris Johnson or Nolan Smith here. With Johnson, given the makeup of the roster, he may have to play left guard in his first season to see proper playing time and that would mean his third new position in three seasons. That just doesn’t equate to good player development in my opinion.

As for Smith, I’m still unashamedly recovering from Keimitis and an undersized pass-rusher worries me too much.

Photo Credits: Illinois Athletics, SB Nation

Video Credits: Big Ten Network, All Chiefd Up, JKBOGEN15, AtoZSportsFilmRoom