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Monti Feathering LaFleur's Offensive Nest
By Walter Mitchell
When Monti Ossenfort broke NFL tampering rules to hire defensive-minded head coach Jonathan Gannon, in his first draft, had he wanted to feather Gannon's defensive nest, he could have sat tight and drafted:
R1 -- Will Anderson Jr., ED, Alabama
R2 -- Brian Branch, S/Slot CB, Alabama
R3 -- Siaki Ika, NT, Baylor
Imagine how those picks might have jumpstarted the Cardinals' defense.
Instead, Monti focused his draft on (1) acquiring extra picks to help make up for losing the #66 pick to the Eagles after the NFL penalized the new GM for his tampering infraction and (2) on trying to make "Kyler comfortable" by drafting the offensive tackle of the QB's choice, at the expense of passing on 1st team All-Pro Will Anderson Jr.
After Jonathan Gannon's demise in Arizona and subsequent firing, now that Monti has hired an offensive-minded head coach, through his first three picks of the 2026 NFL Draft he has been feathering Mike LaFleur's offensive nest with:
R1 --- Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
NFL Draft 2026 Picks by Round - ESPN
playJeremiyah Love's NFL draft profile
Check out some of the top highlights from Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love.
Pre-Draft Analysis
Love is coming off of two extremely productive seasons. He is an explosive runner who possesses great burst and acceleration, with the ability to create separation early and the top-end speed to take it the distance when he finds green grass. He is extremely light on his feet with great quickness and agility to maneuver through high-traffic areas. Love has fluid hips and the suddenness to also make defenders miss in the open field. He displays patience as an inside runner; Love has good vision, though he will miss an occasional running lane. He has good core strength and contact balance to break tackles and consistently runs with determination and effort. He is an extension of the passing game -- he has receiver-like ball skills and is a good route runner out of the backfield. He also brings value in pass protection, showing toughness and willingness to square up defenders at the point of attack. Overall, Love was an extremely productive back at the college level and has the complete skill set to be a playmaker at the next level. -- Scouts Inc.
Matt Miller's pro comp: Reggie Bush
Read more: Rise of RBs sharing carries, what it means for the NFL draft
Post-Draft Analysis
The Cardinals didn't have the biggest need at running back, with Tyler Allgeier signed in free agency and James Conner back for one more year. Then again, only the Raiders averaged fewer yards rushing per game, so flooding the zone with ball carriers makes sense. Love is arguably the best player in the draft, and whenever the Cardinals get their quarterback of the future -- whether later in the first round, or otherwise -- having a strong running game will ease his onboarding process. -- Ben Solak
R2 -- Chase Bisontis, G, Texas A&M
playChase Bisontis' NFL draft profile
Check out some of the top highlights from Texas A&M's Chase Bisontis.
Pre-Draft Analysis
Bisontis was an offensive tackle for the Aggies before becoming a starting guard during the past two seasons. He has the power to hold up the interior of the line with a strong base and good hip flexion. Bisontis is able to get to the edge and the second level, where he can reestablish his base and play low to high. He consistently keeps his feet running and looks to clean up blocks. In pass protection, Bisontis' strong core allows him to maintain balance and anchor. At times, he can be slow to punch and will allow defenders into his chest, but he has the strength to absorb the contact and recover. -- Scouts Inc.
Matt Miller's pro comp: Dominick Puni
Post-Draft Analysis
One complaint about the Cardinals taking Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 pick was that great running backs need a good offensive line to show their greatness. So why not go with a blocker for your next pick? Bisontis played left guard for the past two seasons at Texas A&M, but he probably slots in at right guard for the Cardinals now that they signed Isaac Seumalo in free agency. -- Aaron Schatz
R3 -- Carson Beck, QB, Miami FL
playCarson Beck's NFL draft profile
Check out some of the top highlights from Miami's Carson Beck.
Pre-Draft Analysis
Beck has served as the QB in pro style systems, so the processing and new language in the NFL shouldn't be a major jump for him. Mechanically, Beck has a fairly clean motion with the ability to get the ball out quickly and on time. His delivery is consistent and does not change much as he throws to different levels of the field. He has the arm strength and accuracy to complete short, intermediate and deep throws. Beck does a good job processing his reads and not panicking when having to come back to his checkdown option. His processing drops slightly when under pressure, which can lead to unwarranted and errant throws. -- Scouts Inc.
Matt Miller's pro comp: Davis Mills
Read: Reid's QB Hot Board rankings
Post-Draft Analysis
There it is. The buzz today was that the Cardinals would take Beck atop the second round. Instead, they did it one round off. Beck is an experienced, poised quarterback who can dominate from the pocket when it's kept clean. Arizona has no quarterback of the future after releasing Kyler Murray and might be willing to play Beck immediately given the current contract situation with incumbent starter Jacoby Brissett. You never want to assume a quarterback drafted in Round 3 can become a star, but Beck has shown starting-caliber traits in the past and is a very good fit in coach Mike LaFleur's offense. -- Miller
Red Rain Analysis:
These three picks are a mea culpa of sorts from Monti Ossenfort because of his and the coaches' failures in developing:
RB Trey Benson, Florida St. --- pick #66 (R3) in 2024
G Jon Gaines II, UCLA --- pick #122 (R4) in 2023
G Isaiah Adams, Illinois --- pick #71 (R3) in 2024
QB Clayton Tune, Houston --- pick #139 (R5) in 2023
Typically, when a GM starts over-drafting at positions, especially at the expense of ignoring positions of greater need, it sets the franchise back another 2-3 years.
Now, one can easily make an exception for Monti drafting Jeremiyah Love because of him being both a home run threat at RB and slot WR.
But what stings about the pick is after Monti had already passed on Pro Bowl defensive talents like Will Anderson Jr. in 2023 and Jared Verse in 2024, this feels like deja vu all over again given that Monti with the NFL's #31 defense in 2025 elected to pass on Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Rueben Bain Jr., each of whom could have been a significant upgrade for the team's worst tackling and 3rd worst pass rushing defense.
I had said before the draft that if Monti were to trade for the Vikings' Jonathan Greenard in order to finally give the defense two excellent edge pass rushers, then drafting RB Jeremiyah Love would feel even more exciting.
Alas, another flock of birds, the Philadelphia Eagles, swooped in last night and snatched Jonathan Greenard for their 2026 3rd round pick and 2027 3rd round pick. The Eagles then promptly signed Greenard to a 4-year $100M contract extension, with the key figure of allocating $50M of it as guaranteed.
For $50M guaranteed over what really amounts to 3 years ($16.7M a year), some fans of the same mind would have much preferred the Cardinals to use their 3rd round pick on one of the NFL's best and most productive edge rushers than take a flier on Carson Beck, especially with as loaded the 2027 NFL Draft is likely to be at QB.
There is much to love about Jeremiah Love, and I feel the same about the big, athletic guard Chase Bisontis --- but as we have been saying on Red Rain for months, we believe that Jon Gaines II is a Pro Bowl caliber talent if he were to be given the proper chance to prove it. He got his first extended string of game action last season and while his performances were understandably up and down for the first time starting games in three years, he flashed his talent more than enough to suggest that this Bruin is a keeper and a player to build on.
Had the Cardinals' coaches done a far better job of developing Clayton Tune as the team's backup QB, the need to draft another QB this year would not have been urgent. Now, for those of you who immediately are going to say "but Clayton Tune was awful" --- my counter is --- Clayton Tune was so poorly coached, he never was given a decent chance.
Monti's array of QB debacles and polarizations:
* Colt McCoy - debacle
* Josh Dobbs --- debacle
* Kyler Murray --- devastating debacle --- given all the catering Monti and Gannon did to prioritize his development at the expense of ignoring the team's defensive weaknesses amidst continued questions about his leadership.
* Jacoby Brissett --- ? --- he has been by far the best passer and the most galvanizing leader at QB whom Monti has signed --- but he, despite having the trust and belief of his teammates is now being held in limbo as yet another polarizing QB in terms of those like his teammates who have high confidence pitted against the fans and pundits who are insisting the "Cardinals have no QB."
* Gardner Minshew --- ? ---- if the plan was to draft a QB on Day 1 or Day 2, why give Garnder Minshew a $5.75M with incentives of up to $8.25M contract with $5.14M guaranteed? Now that Monti has added Carson Beck the Cardinals will now have to keep 3 QBs on the roster, which is not ideal in today's NFL. And who should be the QB2? A one-year veteran free agent coming of a rough injury-riddled season, or the guy you just drafted at pick #65?
* Carson Beck --- ? --- while I have a higher opinion of him than others, the fact is he too comes to Arizona as a polarizing prospect. Just listen to the draft pundits. Some think Beck might be able to become a viable starter, while others already believe he has little to no chance.
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Love aside, do you think the tendency to focus on offense is coming from Bidwill?
ReplyDeleteLarge overcorrection last year, but otherwise seems to come from up high, even with a previous defensive coach.
In Monti's 4 drafts:
Delete1st round: 3 offense, 2 defense
2nd round: 1 offense, 3 defense
3rd round: 5 offense, 3 defense
4th round: 1 offense, 3 defense
5th round: 3 offense, 3 defense
6th round: 2 offense, 2 defense
7th round: 1 offense, 3 defense
Total: 16 offense, 19 defense
You can do the same thing for free agent signings, but Monti has spent significantly more money on the defensive side over his 4 years.
What Monti hasn't done is spent top 10 picks on defense, but otherwise he's actually focused more heavily on defense by a good amount.
On its face, it was a poor decision to use a top 75 pick on a talent who will never start in any significant way for this team. He was brought in for leverage, money and control. I'll explain on the podcast Monday.
ReplyDeleteThis ^ ....Playing in the NFC West, this team needed to make every top 3 pick count. You're right 61. It reeks of MB using a valuable 3rd to gain a tactical advantage over Brissett. What gets me is Bidwill bent over and grabbed his ankles for Kyler and then strong arms a solid stand-up guy like Jacoby who last season gave 100% putting his body on the line for a measly 5M. To call that a scumbag move is an insult to all scumbags.
DeleteK Scott slot, sitting there with a big red bow for you
ReplyDelete12 picks after Proctor, he went to the Bucks who know his value and will know how to use him.
DeleteIf I had Monti’s draft power then the last few days, the draft would had gone this way:
ReplyDelete1. Love RB. 2. McDonald DI. 3. M. Bell OT. 4. K. Scott. CB 5. J. Josephs Ed. 6. Campbell. G. 7. Fisher LB