Anything can happen. And will.Yet there are some intriguing factors surrounding this year’s draft that could foment more trade activity or, alternately, suppress it. Here’s what to keep in mind going into Round 1, which begins April 23 in Pittsburgh, and which teams to watch:Arizona Cardinals – smoke or fire?April, and certainly the weeks and days preceding a draft, are widely known as smokescreen season given the rumors, lies and conjecture that fly around – whether they’re fueled by teams, agents, media members or any combination thereof.

And this year, there certainly seems to be a lot of smoke around the Cards − who pick third overall Thursday, need a quarterback, and must improve quickly if they’re going to compete at all with their three much bigger brothers in the NFC West next season.GM Monti Ossenfort worked the board aggressively in 2023, his first draft with Arizona, when he also held the No. 3 spot … and dealt down to No. 12 (bypassing future All-Pro Will Anderson, who went to Houston) … before coming back up to sixth for offensive tackle Paris Johnson (a very good player but never a Pro Bowler). Ossenfort added plenty of future capital along the way, yet three years later, he’s effectively in the same spot, and it should be interesting to see what he does this time.Takeaways in retrospect?“We look at every single one of our drafts.

We look at every player that we've acquired, and I think that's the best way to learn,” Ossenfort while discussing the 2026 draft last week.“I think we look at every aspect of what happened with each of our picks. Where did we hit? Where did we miss?

Why did we miss? What's going on? For some, there is a clear-cut answer. For some it's a little more gray.

I think those are always valuable learning lessons and ones that we’ll continue to do.”Presently, Arizona has been linked – very recently, for what it’s worth – to RB Jeremiyah Love. The Notre Dame star is arguably the draft’s best overall player … he also seems to make little sense at this stage, based on his positional value, for the rebuilding Cardinals, who still have RB James Conner and signed Tyler Allgeier during free agency. And while Ossenfort could simply damn the torpedoes and go best player available after eschewing that route three years ago, this could also be a subplot – devised by someone – to entice another team to come up to No. 3 for Love, even it’s the Titans, who selected fourth overall, or Giants (fifth).Conversely, Ossenfort’s team also seems to be in desperate need of a quarterback following its divorce from Kyler Murray last month.

Longtime NFL backups Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II are currently on the roster along with longshot Kedon Slovis. Naturally, another of the 2026 draft’s overriding storylines is speculation about the final destination for Alabama QB Ty Simpson, who’s generally regarded as a borderline first-round talent, if not one worthy of a top-10 pick or – certainly – third overall.Simpson has been most widely linked to the Cardinals and Jets, both in clear need of a QB1 for the long run. New York seems more likely to pick its passer of the future next year – yet with four of the top 44 selections in 2026, the Jets could certainly take a flier on Simpson without completely tying their future to him.

As that pertains to Ossenfort and Arizona? Perhaps reason enough to compel the Cards to trade up from the 34th spot (the second pick of Round 2), which would mean jumping the Jets, who have the 33rd pick, and getting into the back end of the first round – which confers the valuable fifth-year option, particularly in relation to QBs, onto standard rookie contacts.2026 NFL MOCK DRAFT: What Dexter Lawrence trade might mean for Giants, first roundNaturally, Ossenfort hasn't tipped his hand.“Every decision that's made with the roster, with a draft pick and with a free agent signing is it's got an eye to this year.

You can’t just look at it like, ‘Hey, how's this going to affect us tomorrow and the next day?’ Every decision affects every decision moving forward,” he said.“Our goal is to put as competitive as a team as we can to go into ‘26 and go 1-0 every week. That's what we're trying to do with the realization that every decision that we make affects subsequent years as well. I don't think those are two independent thoughts.”Smoke or not, Love love or no, sure seems like the Cards and their nimble GM could be on the move up, down or every which way.“I think the Arizona Cardinals are go