The Arizona Cardinals may want to trade up in the first round of the draft, and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky wants them to go all the way with it.
With the 16th overall pick in next week’s draft, the Arizona Cardinals are in good position to add an immediate impact player. They could also seize an opportunity to move up, and ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller reported on Wednesday the Cardinals are interested in trading up for a wide receiver.
The Cardinals added weapons around quarterback Kyler Murray in free agency, signing wide receiver A.J. Green and running back James Conner. With wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and running back Chase Edmonds remaining in place, Arizona’s offense could downright scary as they look to take the next step into the playoffs this year.
Should the Cardinals go all-in for a big trade up in the first round?
If the Cardinals want to trade up with an eye on one of the top wide receivers in this year’s class (Ja’Marr Chase, Devonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle), they’ll have to get into the top-10. But on Thursday’s edition of “NFL Live”, ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky had a bigger move up in mind.
The Cardinals have shown us with their actions that they believe they’re in a Super Bowl window because of Kyler Murray being such a good player and still cheap”“But their offense is still missing a pass-catching threat — DeAndre Hopkins is remarkable, we all know that, right? They brought in A.J. Green — OK. But they still need another weapon on the outside.”
Kyle Pitts doesn’t necessarily need to play and say ‘OK, my fingers are in the ground and I’m going to play tight end.’ He’s just going to be kind of a wide receiver in this four-spread offense. If I’m Steve Keim — the general manager of the Cardinals — I’m calling (Atlanta Falcons general manager) Terry Fontenot and going “OK, I’ll give you the 16th pick and I’ll give you the 49th pick this year, I’m only going to start with my second-round pick for next year though just to see if I can get him to bite.’”
The Atlanta Falcons have the fourth overall pick.
With Murray still on his rookie contract, the Cardinals are in a window to prioritize adding talent that can help right away. A tentacle of that is considering consolidating draft capital to move up and get players who fit that bill.
Tight end is notable weakness on the offensive side of the ball for the Cardinals, though Pitts stretches that position label as someone who can line up anywhere. Getting ahead of the Bengals at No. 5, and/or the Dolphins at No. 6, will be required for Arizona to secure Pitts. A big move up, beyond what they may already have in mind, can’t be ruled out.