The Arizona Cardinals decided to stay with the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, taking Jeremiyah Love from Notre Dame. In a draft cycle where the Cardinals pick was simply a massive unknown, it ends up being quite the player.
On the surface, Love is going to supercharge this offseason and joins a backfield with Tyler Allgeier, a bruiser who signed with the team in free agency. Love isn't just a running back, either. He has great receiving ability and is simply an explosive player all over the field.
Suddenly, the Cardinals offense boasts a group featuring Love, Allgeier, Trey McBride, and Marvin Harrison Jr, quite the talent. All of the players are still rather young, too, so this could be a long-term solution. With Love now headed to Arizona, the Cardinals could be planning an even bigger move later on.
Arizona Cardinals might be ready to draft Ty Simpson later on in Round 1
At this point, the offense may only be missing a new quarterback, and while Ty Simpson isn't yet a lock to go to the Cardinals, the pick would make sense. Simpson has largely been seen as a fringe-first-round prospect and is someone who could use a bit of development when he gets to the NFL.
His ceiling may only be at a mid-level starter, but evaluations have been wrong before. Currently, the Cardinals second-round pick is the 34th selection, so to be safe, the front office could move up into the late-first round area to snag Simpson.
This also could feel a lot like what the New York Giants did last year - they took Abdul Carter high and dipped back into Round 1 for Jaxson Dart. Simpson would likely sit a year behind Jacoby Brissett and perhaps even Gardner Minshew, but in today's NFL, it's about getting the long-term quarterback solution in place.
Potentially drafting Simpson and playing him immediately wouldn't make much sense, but the long-term picture here could be clear. A potential offensive group featuring Simpson, Love, Allgeier, Harrison, and McBride could soon emerge as the best young group in the NFC West.
While the Cardinals have gone in the total opposite direction for multiple years now, bad teams don't always have to stay bad, so Arizona could now be in the market to find a way to bring Simpson to the desert before Round 1 is over on Thursday night.
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