Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort watches his team warm up before playing against the Seattle Seahawks in Glendale on Jan. 7, 2024. Syndication: Arizona Republic
GLENDALE – The Arizona Cardinals are a wild card with the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. With the top two prospects linked to the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets at one and two, Arizona will have to make the first real decision in the draft. After a 3-14 season, the Cardinals have many holes to fix with two glaring ones in offensive line and pass rush.
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The talent pool for each position in the top of the draft is plentiful. However, PHNXCardinals Johnny Venerable reported that the franchise hasn’t set any pre-draft meetings with any of the top offensive lineman in the class, hinting the team’s intention third overall.
Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Arizona not meeting with top tackles in draft:
As of now, the Arizona Cardinals have yet to meet with any of the draft’s top three offensive tackles:
Francis Mauigoa
Spencer Fano
Monroe Freeling
Instead, they’ve visiting with second-tier OTs.
If this holds, it would strongly suggest Bailey, Reese or Love at pick #3.
— Johnny Venerable (@JohnnyVenerable) April 8, 2026
General manager Monti Ossenfort did sign four offensive lineman this past free agency period, to bulk up the unit with veterans on short-term deal. The glaring hole that Ossenfort completely blanked on during free agency was at edge, which seems clearly by design. The top of has some talented pass rushers in Texas Tech’s David Bailey, Ohio State’s Arvell Reese, Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. and many more.
Feb 26, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas Tech defensive lineman David Bailey (DL31) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Arizona has had reported interest in Norte Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, but Ossenfort bringing in Tyler Allgeier and restructuring James Conner deal makes that selection unlikely. With Reese projected to be taken second to New York and Bain being graded as a fringe Top 10 player, Bailey seems like the obvious choice for Ossenfort third overall.
The fourth-year Cardinals GM still has plenty of time to meet with those top offensive tackles, but it would be odd for him to wait this long in the process for a prospect he believes in. Bailey is an All-American and had 19.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks with the Red Raiders. At 6’3, 250 pounds, Bailey is a genetic freak that could be a stellar pass rushing partner to Josh Sweat in 2026.
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Reporter Tanner Tortorella covers general assignment for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @TannerTSports
