The gang has descended on Indianapolis for the Scouting Combine. We'll be hearing from JG and Monti later today -- I'll have a story for that too -- but first, the mailbag. Questions have been edited for length and clarity. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag with at least a first name and last initial.
From Chris T:
"The Combine is here, which means you have to start talking draft all the time, right? Right!?! Anyway, there seems to be a lot of mock drafts with the Cardinals taking a defensive lineman or an offensive lineman in the first round, and all I gotta ask is what about pass rusher? Tell me they are going to look at taking a good pass rusher first. We need one bad."
I'm not ruling anything out with the first-round pick. If the right edge rusher is there, compared to whomever else is there, then yeah, it could be an EDGE. I know this: Both Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon prize the trenches. They both believe that's how winning football is created, and the Eagles just won a Super Bowl hammering home that point. The Cardinals can use a disruptive defensive lineman or two. They could use another high-profile offensive lineman. There will be guys there at 16 who could fit that mold (and there are EDGE guys that could be there in round two as well.) Another potential tell: Let's see how free agency plays out in terms of who the Cardinals re-sign and bring in from other teams.
From Chad D:
"When will we start re-signing our own free agents? Could that happen this week? Is there are hard deadline like the 4th, 10th, or 12th? Is Monti waiting for the combine to assess potential replacements? And lastly, if we could only re-sign three players with expiring contracts, who would you pick as your three? Thanks for hearing us out, and hope you had a great vacation!"
Off the top, there is no deadline. However, come the 10th, all free agents are able to speak to every team, so anyone unsigned can be wooed by riches elsewhere. That doesn't necessarily mean a player couldn't or wouldn't return, but it's less likely by then. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a re-signing or two ahead of time. I don't know about Combine week, but certainly next week I won't be surprised if there is news. As far as who, without knowing what the Cardinals might want to do, I think my top three would be Browning, Lopez and Beachum -- but that's not knowing what the other FA/draft plans might be, and that's shaded by the social media of Kyzir White sounding like he was leaving. White would be someone else I'd try to keep, as well as Will Hernandez.
From Harrison C:
"I know everyone wants a lineman at 16 (O-Line or D-Line), and I agree. But what are the other options? I'm a big advocate of BPA in almost any scenario (maybe not QB or TE but that's it). Tetairoa McMillan is one that makes sense. I expect him there to be no chance he's on the board at 10, but you never know; Daniel Jeremiah had him falling even further. Jeanty also should not make it to 16, but if he did somehow, you have to consider it. Game-changers like that do not come often. What about cornerback Will Johnson (assuming he tests well at the combine)? Anyone I missed?"
You have to believe they are that kind of game-changer and a significant upgrade. Take Jeanty for instance. You just spent a third-round pick on a guy who you think can change games in Trey Benson, not to mention the Conner extension. Depending who is on the board, I just don't know if McMillian is so good that he would easily beat out a good tackle prospect. Or defensive tackle prospect. Anyone who has followed the Cardinals for any length of time knows they once did take Levi Brown, a tackle, over Adrian Peterson. That should give pause. But from what I have seen of the players available, I don't know if a Jeanty or McMillan surpass all the potential linemen.
From Brian Green:
"Hi Darren. There is a 2025 storyline that's been covered, but I don't think it has garnered the intensity of attention it deserves; and that being the team experienced significant coaching turnover the last few weeks. Part of that is guys getting opportunities elsewhere. But let's be frank, part of it is also hiring and firings because this team has underperformed, and that's what I want to talk about. Were you surprised by all the moves they made? Do these moves signal a degree of desperation? I'm all for any moves that improves the team. But I'm also a big 'players play' guy. I think the fact is we lack talent."
Coaching matters. But yes, I tend to lean on the players part of it. In the end, it's always easier to let coaches go than a ton of your players. And let's face it, some coaches are more talented than others just like some players are more talented than others, and if you are a head coach, that is something you evaluate as much as the roster. Frankly, to go through an offseason like last year where the Cardinals had no coaching changes is a lot more unusual than what happened this year. You can't blame guys for wanting to go elsewhere for better opportunity. There were a couple of guys let go, but is it being desperate? I don't think so. Jonathan Gannon had two years to watch his initial staff and then make decisions; change happens in all business and this is the business. Now we see if new coaching helps, how much the talent can be improved, and all of it in a crucial season by anyone's standards in 2025.
From Greg Larson:
"What do the coaches do for the draft process? Is JG telling Monti what he needs and then the scouts and GM make the picks or what exactly happens? How do teams make sure they take guys who make sense with the football schemes a team has?"
That's a simplistic way to say it, but essentially, yes. The scouts do the bulk of the process early on, with an eye on the kinds of players that would fit into the scheme. Most teams scout players two ways: overall in a vacuum, and then through the prism of how they fit how your specific offense and defense is played. The latter is the way it is weighted when it comes to the draft. But in the spring, when the team has draft meetings, each position coach (and the coordinators, and Gannon) are in the meetings as they go over all the players, hear what the area scout and the cross-checking scout break the player down, and then a particular coach -- who has also by then watched the tape -- has his say. They will also add in the medical, and give their human perspective after the player interviews.
From Matthew S:
"Does anyone know why Mike Green was kicked out of UVA? I couldn't find anything, just reports that he was 'no longer active' in the middle of the season. Aside from that, he's only had one excellent year at Marshall (and a good Senior Bowl which he opted out of quickly). Are there hints of a character concern here? Did anyone go to his birthday party? Or is this just a red herring? How does Monti go about assessing something like 'character' for a rookie who is the star of his college team?"
I know nothing about the specifics of Mike Green, although the birthday party line is an excellent pull. (As a quick aside, Bo had an unfortunate casting choice for his agent.) As for how Ossenfort and teams figure out character, they talk to everyone they can. They talk to coaches, to equipment guys, to trainers, to teammates. Every player has his legal background checked. Some stuff eventually reaches the public, but rest assured, teams always know almost everything. (And that doesn't necessarily translate to the league; Tyrann Mathieu had all kinds of issues and turned out to be a Hall of Fame candidate.)
From Cal W:
"Monti said the Cardinals were going to be active in free agency. What does that mean, to you? I feel like the Cardinals always say they are going to be active, and usually they aren't. What do you think is going to happen?"
I think a couple of things with this. I rarely have been through an offseason when whoever is running the Cardinals haven't said the team will be active in free agency. And to be fair, they were active last year. They just didn't sign big names. People hear "aggressive" and translate that into chasing the biggest names, while teams just feel like if they are chasing new players, that too is aggressive. Both can be true. I'll say this: It's rare a true game-changer comes available on the open market. Doesn't mean good players aren't necessarily available, but teams rarely let superstars walk, and those teams are the ones who know these players the best. I do think the Cardinals could chase one or two of the "bigger" names in this FA class, although it should be noted this class isn't considered strong.
From Elmo B:
'Hi Darren. I know you're not a huge draft guy, but do you prospect watch at all? I'm curious if you ever have guys you're hopeful to land, beyond the obvious Marvin types. Shameless plug: I want Mike Green. Do you have your eye on any players in particular? Are you a true BPA type? Fortunately for our Cardinals this is a particularly good pass rush draft class. But, let's say a blue chippy CB falls to us (AZ native Ben Morrison, hello)? Elite DBs improve your pass rush well. I know there's a lot of nuance, but Monti has done such a good job that maybe we don't have needs everywhere. Now pass rush does stick out like a green thumb, but that also puts you as risk of drafting on need, and passing on superior talent?"
Elmo -- if that is your real name -- we need to work on your analogies, since the pass rush probably is more like a sore thumb than a group that is good at gardening. Anyways ... I do not really "prospect watch." There is so much that goes into these picks, including personal interactions and medical and backgrounds, that it'd be impossible for my prospect watch to equate to much. Generally, for the draft, I kind of feel like I don't want to know a ton about every guy because so few of them I am ever going to cover.
That said, BPA always has a factor of need baked in. That's reality. I think there is IOL need, I think there is DL need, I think there is EDGE need. If Travis Hunter is there at 16, then OK I get it. But I'm going to guess the grades will be close enough with whomever is available at 16 that the Cardinals will be able to find a lineman of some sort rather than, say, a cornerback.
From Ben J:
"Why are Cardinals fans so attached to Greg Dortch? He's a decent WR4, and had a good game against the 49ers, but we need some speed as our WR3. I'm looking at Darius Slayton or Elijah Moore for cheap in free agency, or drafting someone like Isiah Bond, Jalen Royals, or Tez Johnson in the third round. Maybe both? Not a lot of faster guys down the board, unless you're hoping for a developmental project like Lambert-Smith or Julian Fleming. Maybe all three?"
The Cardinals aren't spending two draft picks on receivers. Right now they only have six picks. I'm not 100 percent sure they'd take one, depending on free agency. I could see the need for a speed wide receiver. They already have a developmental speed guy with Xavier Weaver. I am curious to see how they address the back end of the receivers room this offseason. As for Dortch, he works hard, he's a good underdog story and he's a quality player. Where he fits going forward will be determined by what happens with those offseason choices.
From Johnny C:
"Number of trades Monti makes on draft day: Over/under 2.5?"
A fantastic question. I'm going to lean the under, because I don't see the capital to trade up and I don't know if he needs a lot of picks this year (whether he tries to make a move to add future picks would be an interesting watch). I know I don't expect zero, however. Monti likes to deal and I don't see that changing abruptly. Are teams going to even want to trade up?
Also, of course, I would never gamble. This is a question for entertainment purposes only.
