Heading into their bye on the heels of five straight losses, the Arizona Cardinals sit at 2-5 with no real path to the playoffs in a loaded NFC. As of today, Arizona holds the 9th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, so it feels appropriate to start familiarizing with some of the high-level prospects that could be on the Cardinals' radar come draft day.

Alabama QB Ty Simpson

A Junior with just seven career starts, Ty Simpson is a strong candidate to return to Tuscaloosa if all of his team's goals aren’t accomplished. However, it’s difficult to look at the type of run Simpson has been on for the last month and not fall in love with his potential.

Standing a solid 6-foot-2 with great arm strength and pinpoint accuracy on his passes, Simpson has thrown 18 touchdowns to just one interception while leading a surging Crimson Tide team back from their upset loss to Florida State University in week one. Alabama has strung together wins against four ranked opponents in a row: Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee, all on the back of Simpson.

His poise has shown up in these big games, and his ability to hang in muddy pockets and still deliver the ball on time would provide Arizona’s offense with some structure and stability it hasn’t had this season.

Simpson doesn’t have incredible athletic ability or an arm on par with the Josh Allens and Matthew Staffords of the world, but he feels like a guy just scratching the surface of what he can be, and if he keeps playing this level or even improves further, the 9th pick likely won’t be high enough to select him.

Utah OT’s Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano

Jonah Williams' time at right tackle for Arizona is coming to an end, with a disastrous performance against Micah Parsons and the Packers' pass rush on Sunday adding another chapter to a horrific free agent signing by the Cardinals.

Pairing Lomu and Fano makes perfect sense. Both guys have spent the past three seasons at Utah, with Fano having started since his true freshman season in 2023, and Lomu entering the lineup in 2024 after a redshirt season in 2023. Both guys are draft-eligible this season, and both are projected first-round picks.

Fano is the more experienced of the two and is the current right tackle for Utah. Fano has developed very nicely in pass protection during his time at Utah, seeing his pressure numbers fall from 21 allowed as a freshman to 14 as a sophomore, despite 131 more pass blocking snaps. This season, he’s seen a minor step back in his pass blocking grade, but still only allowed six pressures in seven starts.

Fano isn’t a one-dimensional player either; his athleticism and raw power are a big reason Utah averages 245 rushing yards per game.

Lomu is very similar, but his first-year pressure numbers were better than Fano’s, with only 17 pressures allowed, and only seven in seven games this season.

He also provides elite athleticism in the run game and may have more overall power than Fano does.

Fano would be my choice due to his familiarity playing right tackle, but neither player would be a bad selection, and Arizona should jump on the chance to select one of these guys if they get the chance.

Ohio State LB Arvell Reese

If you read this and grimaced at the thought of another Cardinals first-round linebacker, I understand, but if you just let the memories of Isaiah Simmons disappear for a moment, you can see that Arvell Reese is a completely different beast.

Reese was a rotational player for the Buckeyes in 2024, tallying 309 snaps for the national champions. This year, he’s shifted into a full-time role on a defense that’s allowing less than six points per game, and his multi-faceted skillset is a big reason for their success. There aren’t many linebackers in college football with the ability to stand up offensive tackles with a long arm in the run game who also display elite-level closing speed while spying the QB and the ability to convert speed to power off the edge against Big Ten Tackles.

The point is that with the right defensive coordinator, this guy has the length, strength and speed to be a one-man wrecking crew at the next level. With the way he’s played so far, it’s doubtful that Reese even makes it to ninth overall with his skillset, but if Arizona’s struggles continue down the stretch and they earn a pick high enough, I’d love to see what he can add to this defense.