Cardinals — 2026 Draft Recap

Arizona took a running back third overall. In a cycle where the consensus said don't spend top-five capital on the position, the Cardinals did it anyway — and the player they got rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns at Notre Dame. Seven picks across seven rounds. One top-five headliner. The whole class tilts toward fixing what the offense couldn't do in 2025.

Start at the top. Arizona's 2025 rushing offense generated minus 21.5 expected points and averaged minus 0.06 expected points per carry — a unit that actively cost the offense points every time it handed off. Enter Jeremiyah Love at three. He went for 1,372 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns at Notre Dame, first in his conference and 17th and 10th nationally, with a long of 94. Add 27 catches for 280 yards and 3 scores out of the backfield. His predicted points added per play — the college equivalent of NFL expected points added — was plus 0.22, totaling plus 48.89 on the year. Top-of-the-board efficiency, workhorse volume, legitimate pass-game value. You can debate the positional cost. You cannot debate the player.

The offensive line surrendered 59 sacks and 129 quarterback hits in 2025, and the run game graded below replacement. Round two, pick 34: Chase Bisontis, guard, Texas A&M — and an athletic outlier. His Relative Athletic Score, the zero-to-ten grade comparing combine and pro-day testing to every player at his position since 1987, came in at 9.85. Top two percent of every guard ever tested. You don't fix that line with one rookie, but you start with the most athletically gifted interior lineman on the board. Arizona doubled back in round seven with Jayden Williams out of Mississippi, a developmental tackle whose 7.59 Relative Athletic Score lands in roughly the top quarter of tackles ever measured. Late-round dart, real testing baseline.

The 2025 passing offense finished essentially neutral in total passing expected points — behind a line that gave up those 59 sacks. So Arizona swung at quarterback in round three: Carson Beck, Miami, pick 65. Beck threw for 3,813 yards and 30 touchdowns in his final college season, second in his conference in both yards and touchdowns, fifth nationally in passing yards. He's 24, he's experienced, and at pick 65 he's exactly the swing that profile asks for. Round five, pick 143, added Reggie Virgil, wide receiver, Texas Tech — a 7.58 Relative Athletic Score, upper third of receivers historically. Late-round flier with a real athletic floor.

Arizona's run defense allowed 2,202 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns in 2025, and the fix is built on testing. Round four, pick 104: Kaleb Proctor, defensive tackle, Southeastern Louisiana. Relative Athletic Score of 9.15 — top decile of all defensive tackles ever measured — with conference-leading 2 sacks and second in tackles for loss with 3. Small-school production, big-time athletic profile. Round six, pick 183: Karson Sharar, linebacker, Iowa. 83 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and a Relative Athletic Score of 9.71. Elite testing paired with real Big Ten tackle-for-loss production. Athletic bets, not finished products — but the baselines are loud.

Pick of the draft is Love at three, and the case isn't the highlight reel — it's the fit. You can argue Bisontis on pure Relative Athletic Score. You can argue Sharar as the best testing-to-production value on day three. Love wins because of what he does to the rest of the offense. Arizona in 2025 ran 71 percent shotgun and a pass rate over expected of plus 398.6 — leaning on the pass because the run wasn't a credible threat, and the quarterback got hit 129 times for it. Drop a back with plus 0.22 predicted points added per play and three-down receiving chops into that offense, and the math on every play call changes.

The 2026 stress test is whether the offensive investment shows up in offensive output. Love at three, Bisontis at 34, Beck at 65, Virgil at 143, Williams at 217 — five of seven picks went to the side of the ball that finished 2025 with a neutral passing grade, a deeply negative rushing grade, and one of the most pass-heavy game-state profiles in the league. Flip the run game from minus 21.5 expected points to even average, and the whole operation breathes. Monti Ossenfort said the board fell to them, that they got the players they wanted at the picks they were sitting on, and that every rookie is expected to carve out a role and help the team win.