- After meeting with the Cowboys, safety prospect Johnathan Abram will trek to Arizona for a Cardinals powwow, Calvin Watkins of The Athletic tweets. Abram is this class’ top safety, per NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah. The Mississippi State alum, who began his career at Georgia, notched two interceptions and three sacks last season. He also made nine tackles for loss. The Cardinals’ second pick comes at No. 33.
Tramaine Brock will again join a Vance Joseph-coached defense. The one-year Broncos contributor will sign with the Cardinals, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Both Brock and Morris Claiborne visited the Cardinals Monday, and Brock will join a veteran-heavy cast of corners in Arizona.
Should Brock make the Cards’ 53-man roster, this will be his 10th NFL season. After one-season stints with the Vikings and Broncos, he will return to the NFC West. Brock spent seven seasons with the 49ers, serving as a backup and part-time starter for Jim Harbaugh‘s teams and then becoming a full-timer during the 2015-16 seasons.
Brock will turn 31 before the season starts. His arrival in Arizona will make the Cards secondary one of the most seasoned in the league. Patrick Peterson enters his ninth season, and Robert Alford and David Amerson are heading into their seventh. The Cardinals also added fifth-year veteran Josh Shaw this offseason.
With the draft coming, it is not a lock this quintet all makes the roster. But the Cardinals, who have had issues for years filling their CB2 role, are going with a volume approach to augment this position group this offseason.
A former UDFA, Brock served as the Broncos’ No. 3 corner last season. He did not fare especially well, grading as one of Pro Football Focus’ lowest-graded corners. But he will have a chance to continue in Joseph’s system. Secondary coaches Marcus Robertson and Greg Williams also worked with Denver’s DBs last season, creating more familiarity for the newest Cardinal corner.
Nick Bosa is not expected to have to wait long to hear his name called during the first round of the upcoming draft, in the event the Cardinals indeed pass on him. Teams with a combination of a high pick and an edge-rushing need are going to bring in the Ohio State standout.
The Cardinals and Giants will bring in Bosa this week, Albert Breer of SI.com reports, adding that Bay Area trips — to meet with both the 49ers and Raiders — are on tap next week.
Bosa has already had dinner with both Cardinals and 49ers representatives, but official visits to the teams holding the top picks in this draft are on tap. Nearly all mock drafts have Bosa going to one of these two NFC West franchises, most now sending him to San Francisco given the Kyler Murray-Cardinals noise.
The Giants are not believed to be interested in packaging their two first-round picks to move up. The team operating this way would almost certainly prevent landing Bosa. The Raiders hold three first-round picks, but with teams ahead of them linked to Bosa, moving up might be difficult. Oakland finishing last season with just 13 sacks — the lowest team total since the 2008 Chiefs — may further drive the franchise toward addressing this need early in Round 1, however.
Nick Bosa did not boast Joey Bosa–caliber stats while with the Buckeyes, registering 17.5 sacks and 29 tackles for loss in his three-season run in Columbus. But he has been universally regarded as a top-tier prospect, as his brother was three years ago.
The Cardinals entered another offseason continuing their search for a reliable complementary cornerback to Patrick Peterson. They signed Robert Alford. But the team may still want to add pieces to its secondary.
Both Morris Claiborne and Tramaine Brock are in Arizona visiting the Cards on Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Each saw a one-year contract recently expire.
Claiborne spent the past two seasons with the Jets and has played on one-year deals for the past three seasons, having signed his first with the Cowboys in 2016. The Jets deployed the former top-10 pick as a starter in each season but appear set to move on.
The Broncos turned to Brock to fill out their previous cornerback trio, which lost Aqib Talib last offseason, with Brock stepping in as Denver’s nickel performer. The Brock-Chris Harris–Bradley Roby trio obviously was a step down from when Talib was in that mix, and Denver was not expected to make an effort to re-sign Brock. No such effort was made, and the Broncos have added Kareem Jackson and Bryce Callahan this offseason.
Brock, who graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 98 corner last season, is entering what would be his age-31 campaign. Claiborne, 29, was one of a handful of corners to surpass 1,000 snaps last season, playing 1,002. The former No. 6 overall pick graded as PFF’s No. 75 cornerback.
In addition to Peterson and Alford, Arizona employs longtime starter David Amerson and Josh Shaw, the latter a free agency addition. Should the Cardinals add either Claiborne or Brock, they will have one of the NFL’s most experienced cornerback contingents.
The Patriots are on the lookout for tight end help in the wake of Rob Gronkowski‘s retirement, and the club will have a top-30 visit with Texas A&M TE Jace Sternberger, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The Pats could use their No. 32 overall pick on a tight end, and while that may be a little high for Sternberger, top prospects Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson may be off the board by that point. Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr. could be available, though, and there is no reason why New England, which has deployed two tight ends to great effect in the past, could not use several of its 12 picks in this year’s draft on the tight end position.
Now for more draft-related rumblings from around the league:
- In addition to the Patriots, Wilson reports that Sternberger has visits lined up with the Chiefs, Packers, Lions, Cowboys, Vikings, and Seahawks.
- Brian Costello of the New York Post does not believe that the Jets will invest high-end draft capital on the WR, RB, or TE positions this year in light of their free agent expenditures, but he still thinks the club could bolster those units with collegiate prospects. He suggests that Gang Green could use a middle- or late-round selection on a wideout, particularly if that player offers return ability, and he thinks a Day 3 blocking tight end and power back could also be in the cards. Of course, with only six draft picks at the moment, New York may need to focus on areas of greater need.
- Penn State DE Shareef Miller will visit with the Ravens, Cardinals, and Jets, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Miller currently projects as a Day 3 pick, but all three clubs could use pass rushing help, and Miller has the raw ability to succeed as a 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB.
- The Broncos may be hosting some of the top QBs in this year’s draft class, but they’re looking at more under-the-radar passers as well, as Mike Klis of 9News.com tweets that Denver will be working out Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson in early April. Thorson is expected to be a middle-round selection.
- Valdosta State CB Stephen Denmark has top-30 visits lined up with the Browns and Saints, per Wilson (via Twitter).
It’s been a rollercoaster of an offseason for Josh Rosen. His first head coach was fired, and his new coach Kliff Kingsbury initially re-committed to him. But ever since then momentum has shifted toward the Cardinals using the first overall pick on Kyler Murray, and looking to trade Rosen. Arizona hasn’t done much to tamp down speculation, and the current conventional wisdom is that the Cards will take Murray. The draft isn’t until April 25th, but current Cardinals players are due to report for offseason workouts on April 8th. When those workouts take place, don’t be surprised if Rosen isn’t there, argues Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic.
It’s been a rollercoaster of an offseason for Josh Rosen. His first head coach was fired, and his new coach Kliff Kingsbury initially re-committed to him. But ever since then momentum has shifted toward the Cardinals using the first overall pick on Kyler Murray, and looking to trade Rosen. Arizona hasn’t done much to tamp down speculation, and the current conventional wisdom is that the Cards will take Murray. The draft isn’t until April 25th, but current Cardinals players are due to report for offseason workouts on April 8th. When those workouts take place, don’t be surprised if Rosen isn’t there, argues Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic.
McManaman writes that both Rosen and the team might not want him to report, for several reasons. McManaman notes that the Cardinals were eligible to start workouts this coming week, but pushed back the start of their offseason program by a week. Kingsbury said it was for scheduling purposes, but McManaman speculates that it could’ve been to give them more time to work out a Rosen trade. McManaman also argues that the team won’t want to have the free-speaking Rosen shoved in front of a gaggle of reporters right now, and that there’s always the risk of an injury. If Rosen does decide to no-show the workouts, it’ll add a whole lot of fuel to the rumors that he isn’t long for the desert.
- Arizona’s division rival, the 49ers, also have an important draft ahead of them. The 49ers pick second overall, and the last we heard they were targeting Ohio State pass-rusher Nick Bosa. But the 49ers are also looking to add pass-catchers, and will soon host a pair of wideouts for visits. San Francisco will bring in South Carolina receiver Deebo Samuel and Ole Miss receiver A.J. Brown, sources told Matt Barrows of The Athletic. It sounds like the 49ers are still leaning Bosa at number two, assuming the Cardinals pass on him, but are looking to bring in a new weapon for Jimmy Garoppolo with one of their next picks.
NFL teams in need of a long-term answer at quarterback appear to have an interesting opportunity this offseason. One of 2018’s top quarterback prospects may well be available at a discount rate — both financially and in terms of draft capital — less than a year after being selected.
Nothing has cooled on the Cardinals-Kyler Murray front, leaving Josh Rosen as one of the more intriguing potential trade chips in memory. Kliff Kingsbury in February said Rosen would be the starting quarterback on his first Cardinals team, and while he has not officially changed his stance on this, the odds entering April of Rosen having a second opportunity with the Cards look longer than the likelihood of the UCLA product being traded.
The Giants loom as a possible landing spot. If/when Rosen becomes available, one of the teams that passed on him last year will be interested. Big Blue did not have a consensus on the top quarterback in last year’s draft, but with Eli Manning having recently turned 38 and Dave Gettleman having chosen Saquon Barkley over Sam Darnold 11 months ago, the prospect of a first-round quarterback talent being available at a lower rate has to be somewhat enticing — especially for a Giants team that has numerous needs on defense.
Gettleman traded both Jason Pierre-Paul, Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison and Eli Apple in the past year and opted against placing the Giants’ franchise tag on Landon Collins. The team has a few surefire starters — Alec Ogletree, Jabrill Peppers, Janoris Jenkins, Dalvin Tomlinson, B.J. Hill — but is lacking talent elsewhere on its first unit. Both of the Giants’ first-round picks could go toward rebuilding their defense. They are not looking to package their Nos. 6 and 17 picks to move up, either.
None of this year’s group of passing prospects has wowed the Giants, who have been up and down on Dwayne Haskins. If Big Blue is dead-set on the Ohio State-honed quarterback, this is a fairly big secret. Gettleman, however, said his Manning successor will need to be a first-round pick. None of this year’s quarterbacks would outrank Rosen as prospects, in the eyes of multiple high-profile evaluators, either. Prior to selecting Barkley, though, the Giants may not have had Rosen as one of the top-three quarterbacks on their board last year.
The Cardinals took Rosen at No. 10 overall, giving up merely third- and fifth-round draft picks to move up five spots last year. The results were not pretty.
Rosen completed 55 percent of his passes, averaged 5.8 yards per attempt and threw 11 touchdown passes compared to 14 interceptions. He finished with a league-worst 26.1 Total QBR. Football Outsiders assessed the 6-foot-4 passer as last year’s worst full-time quarterback, with Rosen’s DVOA and DYAR figures well behind the pack. Arizona, though, employed two offensive coordinators last year and experienced rampant trouble on its offensive line, creating a shaky setup for a rookie quarterback.
It will almost certainly not cost a team a first-round pick to land Rosen this year. A second, or possibly a third, figures to be enough to pry the 2018 prospect away. The Giants hold the No. 37 overall pick but do not have another selection until No. 132; Big Blue’s third-rounder went toward 2018 supplemental draft cornerback Sam Beal. This would complicate a Giants trade for Rosen, with other teams seemingly likely to pursue the low-cost passer as well. With the Cardinals having paid his signing bonus, a team acquiring Rosen would have him for less than $7MM through the 2021 season. That is obviously great value, if a team believes the 22-year-old is a worthwhile starter.
So should the Giants be the team that pulls the trigger for Rosen, or should they focus on one of this year’s rookie QBs? After his rough debut season, do you view him as a legitimate option to be a long-term starter? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Should the Giants trade for Josh Rosen?
Yes
75.48%
(1,822 votes)
No
24.52%
(592 votes)
Total Votes: 2,414
For a long time toward the end of the college season, Ohio State pass-rusher Nick Bosa was the favorite to go first overall in the 2019 draft. But ever since Kliff Kingsbury got the head coaching job with the Cardinals, momentum has steadily shifted toward Kyler Murray. The current conventional wisdom is that Arizona is leaning toward taking Murray with the first pick, and shopping Josh Rosen. But they won’t admit it publicly, and there are reasons to believe they haven’t actually made up their minds yet.
The Cardinals are having dinner with Bosa tonight, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Bosa, the younger brother of Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, dominated in the Big Ten. The Cardinals have been not so subtle with their interest in Murray, but it’s still possible that it’s all been a smokescreen to try and distract from their true intentions with the pick. If the Cardinals pass on him, Bosa is still a lock to go within the first couple of picks. We heard earlier this week that the 49ers were targeting him at second overall.
The Giants have internally considered a trade for Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. However, those conversations have been extremely preliminary, as the Giants are still unsure about Rosen’s availability. 
Rumors of the Cardinals targeting quarterback Kyler Murray have swirled over the last couple of months and nothing is certain on that front with less than one month to go before they take the podium. Recently, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury did his best to quiet talk of the Cards drafting the former Oklahoma quarterback and moving on from Rosen, the UCLA product who was selected with the No. 10 overall pick last year.
“People have said a lot of things that are misconceptions, if you will,” Kingsbury said of the Rosen speculation. “Josh is a tremendous player, I’ve always thought, watching him at UCLA. He played his best football in a spread system, some similarities to what we do. He’s a tremendous thinker, very cerebral, can throw it with anybody.”
The Giants, meanwhile, are armed with the No. 6 and No. 17 overall picks in this year’s draft, but they’re not 100% sold on any of this year’s top QBs. Rosen could be had for a lot less than a first-round pick, and he has some fans in the building.
- A defensive tackle in the Chargers’ 4-3 defense the past two seasons, Darius Philon will return to a role as a 3-4 defensive end with his new team. The Cardinals are planning to use Philon as an end, Kliff Kingsbury said (via ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss, on Twitter).