Keep in mind all that was required of him was to fix a franchise that last won the top prize in 1947, when BTW they were owned by the same family. How hard could that be? I have to chuckle about people thinking he should fix this in 3 years. How many GMs have been with the Cards and failed since 1947? I didn’t waste the time to count them; it’s a lot. Remember even in their Super Bowl year the Cards regular season record was 9-7.
I was asked to review his drafts. I’m going to take a broader view and review his overall performance. While the jury is still out I’ve already posted I think Gannon was as a good a choice as was practically available. Don’t lose sight of the fact that top people aren’t clamoring to work for Bidwill. Just ask Reid and Payton. The Cards will have to develop a coach. Ken Blanchard author of the book One Minute Manager, likens the Cardinal fans’ position to looking for a Sea World performer. You go out in small boat, spot an Orca, hold a rod out above the water and shout jump. If you can’t hire it; you have to develop it.
The second big indictment of Ossenfort was letting Allen and Murphy leave via free agency. While I think Ossenfort was in a tough spot of not knowing whose evaluation to trust, I accept it was indeed a mistake to let those players leave. I don’t believe it had a big impact on the rebuild, but they’ve both proven to be quality NFL players.
I’m not going to list them but for the most part Ossenfort’s free agent signings have been better than average. Some complain he should have signed more players, but you can only integrate so many players and have effective participation. He’s signed a big bunch of people. He hasn’t missed on many substantial choices, though injuries skewed his results.
Draft-wise taking them one year at a time, 2025 saw all 7 picks essentially make the roster. With Nolen out it’s hard to fully assess the 2025 impact. Johnson and Burch look like exceptional choices. I think it will at least be a solid draft. If Nolen hits it will be outstanding. There weren’t enough picks to fix everything, but focusing on the side of the ball that has the best coaching, makes sense to me.
In 2024 I would have traded some late picks. They had too many. Hard to coach up that many players. I know I will deviate from the board on this part of my review. I think it’s fair to say other WRs have outplayed Harrison, though I do believe some played in better circumstances. Nabers, though now injured, has been great without a doubt. Not certain how he’d have done in AZ, but likely better than Harrison’s done. I certainly haven’t given up on Harrison. I still maintain Harrison was the consensus choice for that pick. Robinson’s injury clearly set him back. He may just now be getting where he should have been last year. Late round 1 can often be a tricky place to grab a DL. Also I agree with some others; he may really be better at DE. Too soon to make a good call about him, but now with a mystery injury; who knows. Again people must expect GMs to be psychic. Robinson played 49 games in college with excellent stats that indicated aggression. He suffered no major injuries, being consistently healthy. Just how was Ossenfort supposed to predict his injury woes? BTW the injury concern is why Benson slid to round three though he was most often ranked the number one RB. At Oregon Benson had a major knee injury, tearing his ACL & MCL. In 2 years at FSU he was never significantly injured despite carrying the ball 300 times. I haven’t seen any revised stats but it used to be a torn ACL was about 15% likely to recur. Drafting him could fairly be called a reasonable gamble.
Round 2 was Melton and when playing with the normal pairings he looked solid. He could use some safety help, like many corners. I think Benson was a good choice in round 3 though risky as I said above. He needs a fair shot with the proper running schemes. Adams looks like a reach at this stage. I like Reiman, especially on a run-first team. DTD was a great pick. He should start ahead of Thompson in my opinion. Thomas looked like an okay gamble for a round 5 pick, but the Cards now simply have better rushers. Jones is still distant from an impact player. Injuries haven’t helped. Palmer and Davis were just bodies. This is at least an average draft and if I’m right about player development it could end up as very good. It’s a pointless exercise IMO to pick one player drafted after a specific pick and say the Cards should have picked that player. You could do that with virtually any draft.
2023 saw the Cards get a decent if not flashy LT in Johnson. I never liked Gaines, but the Cards seem to. Ojulari has been a hard luck injury victim who flashed some when he got on the field. Tune had the raw talent but never exhibited enough composure. Like Murray he was damaged by poor line play. No clue on Robinson. Clark has proven to be at least a decent backup CB now that he’s been allowed to play. This was a first draft by a new GM who likely didn’t have his preferred scouting and evaluation staff in place. It’s like working in the dark. Likely a somewhat below average result.
Drafting is tough. The move for a college player to the NFL is often challenging. Rarely after the top 15 picks do all a team’s scouts agree on a pick. Even with the right pick, coaching and injury can destroy the best strategies. Look at the mocks from former scouts and GMs. They never agree beyond sometimes the early picks. I think Ossenfort’s drafts have improved from year to year. I’m anxious to see what he does next year. Improvement is the primary objective if the latest draft is sound.
I’m not certain there’s a magic number but we used to say if half your picks make the 53 that’s a good draft. Though I admit the Cards started with a very weak roster. Of course also if you only hit on the bottom picks, that’s obviously not good. I think Ossenfort overall has been reasonably successful.
When he arrived in Arizona the Cards were in total disarray roster-wise. They still have obvious gaps, but you can only fix so much in 3 years. I know that seems like a long time to fans, but it’s not a full run in the NFL. I look at a 5 year period if you’re starting from near zero, especially for a first time GM. I agree that if a team is consistently going backwards, unless they suffer severe injuries, it’s a cause for concern. I think Ossenfort has moved the team forward despite some coaching issues. This is clearly a better roster than the one he inherited. He hasn’t fixed everything but patience is still a virtue.
