Cardinals, Chiefs Rumored For Blockbuster Draft Trade

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals move into the final stages of 2026 NFL Draft preparation with hefty rumors surrounding their third overall pick and what could come of general manager Monti Ossenfort's decision when they're on the clock.

The Cardinals have never been strangers to trade rumors under Ossenfort, who has shown more than just a willingness to barter and deal with other teams to climb or fall down draft boards. 2026 feels no different.

At this point it might surprise people if Arizona doesn't trade the pick.

The latest candidate to do business with the Cardinals seems to be the Kansas City Chiefs, according to PHNX.

"Sources tell PHNX Cardinals that Ossenfort has already engaged in early trade discussions with GM Brett Veach and the Kansas City Chiefs," said Johnny Venerable.

"The Chiefs, who own the ninth overall pick, would likely target the top available pass rusher in either Texas Tech’s David Bailey or Ohio State’s Arvell Reese. While initial trade details remain vague, the NFL Trade Value Chart projects that pick #3 is worth roughly 2200, while pick #9 is worth #1350."

The Cardinals are also reportedly thought to be engaged in talks with the Dallas Cowboys, who own picks 12 and 20 in the first round.

With plenty of needs in the first round and a lack of top elite talent available at the top of the draft, it would make sense for Arizona to move down.

When asked specifically about trading down, Ossenfort said there's plenty that goes into the decision to pull the trigger on a trade:

“I think really the first thing that comes up is opportunity. There's got to be someone that is interested in trading a pick or coming up and getting a pick. If those opportunities don't present themselves, then there's nothing to even talk about," he told reporters at his pre-draft media availability.

"When you start looking at trading back for accumulating picks, I think one thing that you really have to talk about is (that) if we trade back, what is the premium that we're getting paid to move back? Then if we do indeed move back, who's going to be available to pick when we move back to that spot? So, what you have to consider is the value of what you're giving up to move back, is that at a big enough level? If it is great. That answers one question.

"Then I think the other part of that is if we drop back, are we going to be comfortable taking the player that is there? And that's guesswork. I have no idea. Like when we dropped back a couple of years ago from three to 12, we had to be prepared to take the 12th player on our board because who knows where we were going to end up. I think a lot goes into those picks."

A deal likely won't happen until the Cardinals are on the clock, though Arizona sure seems to be intrigued by the possibility of moving back once again.