Is Monti Ossenfort the Ultimate QB Teaser?
By Walter Mitchell
In the 2026 NFL Draft when Monti Ossenfort, after using his 1st and 2nd round picks on offensive players at positions where the Cardinals already had more than ample depth, he surprised the NFL universe by tabbing QB Carson Beck with the first pick in the 3rd round, pick #65.
I can say "came as a surprise" --- because here's where three top 2026 NFL Draft prognosticators ranked Carson Beck:
Dane Brugler: #145 --- 80 picks higher
Mel Kiper: #111 --- 46 picks higher
PFF: #113 --- 48 picks higher
The teaser: why the urgency to pick Carson Beck at pick #65? It created the impression, for right or for wrong, that the Cardinals see Beck as their potential QBOF, perhaps even over the star-studded QBs in the 2027 Draft.
Had Carson Beck been a Day 3 pick, that would have significantly changed the perception.
Higher rated picks at #65:
DTs/DEs: Tyler Onyedim, Teas A&M (#66 DEN), Kenyon Crawford, Auburn (#67 LV), Chris McClelland, Missouri (#77 GB)
Note: In Red Rain Podcast's 2026 Cardinals' Mock Draft, we tabbed big, disruptive Missouri DT Chris McClellan in R3 after doing a video profile on him.
EDGEs: Romello Height (#70 SF), Jaishawn Barham, Michigan (#92 DAL)
Having already signed Gardner Minshew to a $5.1M guaranteed contract which very understandably prompted Jacoby Brissett, clinging to a mere $1.5M in guaranteed money remaining on his 2-year deal, to hold out for an upgraded 2026 contract --- how much sense did it make to draft a young QB at pick #65 given having Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew on the roster and knowing that the 2027 NFL Draft happens to be loaded at the QB position?
Thus, when Monti Ossenfort rolled the dice on Carson Beck so early in the draft, many Cardinals' fans became convinced that Monti was moving on from the players' #1 choice, Jacoby Brissett, in favor of starting Gardner Minshew for a few games before turning the reins over to the 24-year-old Carson Beck, in an effort to assess whether Beck could be the Cardinals' QB1 in 2027 and beyond.
Even as far as up to a couple of days ago when Dan Bickley and Vince Marotta were posing the apt question of why did it take so long for Monti Ossenfort to sign Jacoby Brissett, especially given the modest nature of the $15.5M contract that Arizona pundits, Budda Baker and Devin McCourty had alluded to and predicted all along?
Rightly so, Bick and Vince were wondering whether the delay was for Monti and Mike to get a good sense of how well Carson Beck could assimilate into MLF's McVay-style of offense that Ty Simpson has already described the learning of as "like trying to drink water from a fire hose."
But if that was Monti and Mike's plan, why in the world did they wait all the way to the first day of training camp to sign Carson Beck?
Some fans may not realize this, but Beck was a "hold-in" during the team's 8 weeks of OTAs. In that interim, Gardner Minshew took all of the 1st team reps, while Kaden Slovis took all of the 2nd team reps. Carson Beck, all the while, during team sets was relegated to being a spectator.
Should it surprise anyone that the first few days of training camp once Carson Beck got some live reps in the offense that he would struggle? Let's be real --- despite Carson Beck being in the building for the past couple of months, these were his first-time 11 on 11 reps.
Furthermore, with Jacoby Brisett now getting the reps with the 1st team and Carson Beck sharing the reps with Gardner Minshew with the 2nd team, should it surprise anyone that Mike LaFleur and the coaches have little urgency whatsoever to force Carson Beck into a starting role this season, that is, until they can afford to give him plenty of practice reps with the 1st team offense and help him try to command the offense and give him the opportunity to jive with the top receivers?
Misguided fans will keep insisting that "the Cardinals have to play Carson Beck a number of games this season to see whether he is the team's QBOF."
That does not appear to be the coaches' plan for Carson Beck.
The plan this season is to determine how well Jacoby Brissett can assimilate and produce in Mike LaFleur's offense. The plan is to try to win as many games as they can. If the Cardinals can be fairly close to .500 after 8-9 games, then their schedule gets much more manageable the last 7-8 games.
The Cardinals' players are jacked up and are sick of losing. Think of what a boon it could be for Mike LaFleur and his staff if they are winning games. Nothing does more for the confidence of a team and its coaching staff when it wins games, particularly whenever they do as underdogs.
If Jacoby Brissett endears himself to the new coaches, they will want to have him return in 2027.
Naysayers will cite Jacoby's age as a deterrent. However, age 33 is no longer considered old for an NFL QB, especially considering the run Tom Brady had well into his 40s and that the 2025 NFL MVP, Matthew Stafford tuned 38 in February.
oldest starting QBs in NFL 2026 - Google Search
- Aaron Rodgers (Pittsburgh Steelers): Age 42
- Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams): Age 38
- Kirk Cousins (Las Vegas Raiders): Age 37
- Geno Smith (New York Jets): Age 36
- Jacoby Brissett (Arizona Cardinals): Age 33
- Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys): Age 33
- Jared Goff (Detroit Lions): Age 32
- Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs) Age 31
- Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): Age 31
- Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills): Age 30
Plan A: Jacoby Brisett
If not Brissett beyond 2026 ---
Plan B: UFA QB Market 2027
* Baker Mayfield, TB
* Mac Jones, SF
* Davis Mills, HOU
* Tanner McKee, PHI
* Jarrett Stidham, DEN
If not taking the UFA QB route ---
Plan C: 2027 NFL Draft
* Arch Manning, Texas
* Dante Moore, Oregon
* Trinidad Chambliss, Mississippi
* Julian Sayin, Ohio St.
* C.J. Carr, Notre Dame
* LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
* Darien Mensah, Miami (FL)
* C.J. Bailey, North Carolina St.
* Jayden Maiava, USC
* Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma St.
* Josh Hoover, Indiana
* Sam Leavitt, LSU
* Brandon Sorsby, via Cincinnati 2025
At the Cardinals' Beck and Call:
The coaches have every intention of giving Carson Beck the opportunity to develop in their system for the next 4 years. But they understand, as Beck does, that grooming and prepping him to start is going to require steadfast patience.
Could Carson Beck make such a strong impression of the coaches and his teammates that the Cardinals elect not to draft one of the top QBs in 2027?
Hey, never say never. What a boon it could be for the organization if Beck could make a convincing case for QBOF. However, it is more realistic that he can eventually make that case in a year or two. Who knows? Dude was 37-6 at Georgia and Miami. Under the brightest of lights.
Carson City
Meanwhile, after a few days of struggling, Carson Beck had his best day of practice yesterday, leading the 2nd team offense to a 2-minute drill TD on a nifty skinny 18-yard post pass to Bryson Green.
And here is Carson Beck's best throw of the day, a TD pass to TE Rivaldo Fairweather, care of Craig Grialou of Arizona Sports:
https://x.com/CraigAZSports/status/2082616068712128937?s=20
Next up: the Hallof Fame Game, Canton, Ohio. One week from today. Yeah, baby!
This off season didn't have a robust free agent QB class. The draft really had 1-2 potential first round rated QBs. We were in a position of having to repopulate the QB roster. When Simpson came off the board the last QB with high round c
ReplyDeletepotential was Beck..If he can develop into a starting QB we might have a better idea by years end. Worst case scenario is he's a good back up QB that can compete next years versus a Baker Mayfield or a first round QB like Moore. Our QB room can look definitely better heading into 2027 schedule. This year just left us with limited options to make a quantum leap.
Yeah just playing it out with Jacoby while Kyler’s cap hold falls of the books is not a bad idea. Plus if they win 7-8 games and don’t get the top pick, just bring back Jacoby again on a 1 year deal
DeleteTrue that Kyle..happy first year anniversary to the crew at Red Rain podcast. Always a great read at the news stand .
DeleteBaker Mayfield won’t make it to Free Agency, he’ll get franchise tagged by the Bucs most likely unless the season goes to hell and they fire Bowles. I do think they can get by with a Mac Jones or Davis Mills, and keep Beck around for 2-3 years and see him, if anything, as a solid backup for the inevitability of injury
ReplyDeleteAll this talk of plans, but I'm not convinced Monti has a plan.
ReplyDeleteFair point! It's difficult to decipher.
DeleteThis article illustrates the WHY drafting Carson Beck was a failure of draft. Taking a flyer with 1st pick in rnd 5 - sure who cares, using 1st pick in 3rd round - waste of draft pick. I said pre-draft Carson Becks ceiling is basically that of Colt McCoy a career backup. So was it Bidwill forcing Monti to pick Beck or was it a Monti failure (either way its still a Monti failure). This is also why they should have gotten ahead of the curve with the Brissett contract (again, whether Bidwill idea to hold-off or Monti, it was a failure by our GM). But I guess a career backup is worth the high selection, maybe that was plan, draft a rookie to be your backup (and if he worked as QBOF you won lottery ie. Purdy). But that was and is a crap shoot in a dark room. I have already lost complete faith in Monti as a ream-builder in draft or FA his moves and selections are bewildering to say least. I had same concerns in each draft (I won't recount them here).
ReplyDeleteUF - I tend to agree that Monti had zero plan for the 2026 draft, or if this was plan all along - I question his QM "team-building" philosophy. It definitely doesn't appear to follow the 'Patriot-Way'. More like the 'Bidwill "Loser" Way'. Which is my guess.
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