INDIANAPOLIS -- Scouting college games -- and the video that comes from those games -- are "paramount" in how the Cardinals ultimately sort out their draft prospects.
The other pieces do matter for Monti Ossenfort, however, including this week's annual sojourn to the Scouting combine in Indianapolis, where 330 or so draft-eligible players get added attention from the 32 NFL teams before the actual selections come in late April.
"The finish line is near," Ossenfort said last week on Arizona Sports.
As of now, the Cardinals have six draft picks, the fewest Ossenfort has had since arriving as GM. The direction of those choices will be impacted by free agency -- teams can officially start signing players from other teams on March 12, with discussions with those players starting March 10 -- as the Cardinals head into an important third offseason under Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon.
Ossenfort and Gannon will speak to the media on Tuesday at the Combine, a side mission among the player interviews, on-field drills and medical testing.
"Our evaluation of this year's draft class really began last year, the day after last year's draft," Ossenfort said.
That was the draft that had twin first-round picks in wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and defensive lineman Darius Robinson. This year, the Cardinals select 16th in a draft consistently rated as rich with defensive tackles and EDGE players -- positions of need -- as well as potential offensive linemen.
The studying has been ongoing. Aside from video and live scouting, the Cardinals also had multiple representatives at the various college all-star games, seeing specific players in competitive situations. While the drills in Indy can help, it is the in-person interviews that carry the most weight, and the "undervalued" medical testing, as Ossenfort sees it.
"All those things go into what we try to do," Ossenfort said.
A report out of Indianapolis -- where the Combine has been a staple since 1987 -- has Arizona as one of the spots that has shown interest in hosting the event in the future. The combine will be held in Indiana this year and next but could be moved after that, much like the draft.
