Why the Cardinals Should Draft for Defense in 2026 photo: Caitlyn Epes/Arizona Cardinals By Walter Mitchell As much as there is to love about Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, the Arizona Cardinals need to prioritize adding much needed star power to a defense that gave up 32.8 ppp over the last 12 games and 41.8 ppg over the last 4 NFC West games. Monti Ossenfort bolstered the Cardinals' RB room by re-signing 2-time Pro Bowler James Conner, then signing UFA RB Tyler Allgeier (ATL) to a 2-year $12M contract with $8M guaranteed. The much-overlooked player here is Trey Benson. Monti was so high on Benson that he drafted him with the #66 pick two years ago. As a rookie he averaged 4.6 ypc and, last season before incurring a knee injury (torn meniscus), Benz averaged 5.5 ypg, even behind an offensive line that was not getting off the ball the way they had been when Klayton Adams was their coach. When GMs start over-drafting at positions it's an admission of failure and i...
