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By the end of the second day of the NFL draft Friday night, it appeared to have been a methodical process where the Arizona Cardinals made more decisions to upgrade the talent level on their defense.
It went from interior lineman Walter Nolen III in the first round Thursday, moved to the back end with cornerback Will Johnson in the second round, and followed with edge rusher Jordan Burch in the third round.
It was the first time in 34 years that the team's first three picks were defensive players: defensive lineman Eric Swann, defensive tackle Mike Jones and cornerback Aeneas Williams in 1991.
General manager Monti Ossenfort insisted it was simply a matter of being patient with the draft board and adding good players irrespective of the side of the ball they play.
“It was really how the board shook out,” Ossenfort said Friday night. “We’ve never gone into a draft saying we have to add this many offensive players or this many defensive players. Or this position over this position. It just so happened that the first three picks have been defense. Tomorrow it could be three more on defense. It could be three on offense. Who knows. We'll have to see how it goes.”
Ossenfort liked the value of getting Johnson and Burch where they did so much that he eschewed several opportunities to trade down in both rounds to secure extra picks.
He said, “That's a consideration in every trade, so you have a choice to make. You have a player that you like so you go ahead and put the pick in. Or do you gamble? If you drop back, you have to be comfortable losing them. For us, we had a couple of good offers on the table. We talked about it and it just wasn’t worth the gamble.”
That value also played a part in being comfortable where they were able to select them. Both Johnson and Burch had some injury issues during their college careers (Johnson more than Burch), while Burch had a breakout season in 2024 after transferring to Oregon from South Carolina the year before.
Asked whether those selections, as well as Nolen who transferred from Texas A&M to Mississippi last year, would have been made two years ago, Ossenfort said, “We try to put a profile together of everybody that our scouts look at. Every prospect that’s available in the draft. Everybody that’s on our board has a different story and different guys have different things that we have to work through. We go through the process of that and when we put together our board, we place a value on the player and that encompasses everything that goes into the person; the football player. A lot of things go into that.
“When we place a value on the player, it's really reflective of where we would feel comfortable taking them. By the time draft day comes along, the decisions have already been made. A lot of things go into putting where we value the player and then draft night is just waiting to see how that comes off.”
For Johnson’s specific injury issues, Ossenfort said, “Really the same process we do with all the prospects and that's an extensive process. Ended up good with Will and excited to get him going.”
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL draft results: Arizona Cardinals take 2 defensive players on Day 2
Continue reading...
It went from interior lineman Walter Nolen III in the first round Thursday, moved to the back end with cornerback Will Johnson in the second round, and followed with edge rusher Jordan Burch in the third round.
It was the first time in 34 years that the team's first three picks were defensive players: defensive lineman Eric Swann, defensive tackle Mike Jones and cornerback Aeneas Williams in 1991.
General manager Monti Ossenfort insisted it was simply a matter of being patient with the draft board and adding good players irrespective of the side of the ball they play.
“It was really how the board shook out,” Ossenfort said Friday night. “We’ve never gone into a draft saying we have to add this many offensive players or this many defensive players. Or this position over this position. It just so happened that the first three picks have been defense. Tomorrow it could be three more on defense. It could be three on offense. Who knows. We'll have to see how it goes.”
Ossenfort liked the value of getting Johnson and Burch where they did so much that he eschewed several opportunities to trade down in both rounds to secure extra picks.
He said, “That's a consideration in every trade, so you have a choice to make. You have a player that you like so you go ahead and put the pick in. Or do you gamble? If you drop back, you have to be comfortable losing them. For us, we had a couple of good offers on the table. We talked about it and it just wasn’t worth the gamble.”
That value also played a part in being comfortable where they were able to select them. Both Johnson and Burch had some injury issues during their college careers (Johnson more than Burch), while Burch had a breakout season in 2024 after transferring to Oregon from South Carolina the year before.
Asked whether those selections, as well as Nolen who transferred from Texas A&M to Mississippi last year, would have been made two years ago, Ossenfort said, “We try to put a profile together of everybody that our scouts look at. Every prospect that’s available in the draft. Everybody that’s on our board has a different story and different guys have different things that we have to work through. We go through the process of that and when we put together our board, we place a value on the player and that encompasses everything that goes into the person; the football player. A lot of things go into that.
“When we place a value on the player, it's really reflective of where we would feel comfortable taking them. By the time draft day comes along, the decisions have already been made. A lot of things go into putting where we value the player and then draft night is just waiting to see how that comes off.”
For Johnson’s specific injury issues, Ossenfort said, “Really the same process we do with all the prospects and that's an extensive process. Ended up good with Will and excited to get him going.”
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL draft results: Arizona Cardinals take 2 defensive players on Day 2
Continue reading...
