Are the Cards Thinking 2027?

[Lomax to Green 84]

I don't think his stock "rose" because of his combine throwing. It either reinforced what teams felt was a positive or a negative. His stock my have risen because of his interviews with teams which most people would say is more important than on-field work. If teams had concerns about his play last year or his overall inexperience, that is where those would have been addressed.

Very different from ARich (in my opinion).

Simpson was awesome for about 9 games this past year. There is some speculation that he was playing with a back injury those last 5 games that significantly impacted his ability. Based on those 9 great games, he looked like a legit franchise quarterback.

 

[DVontel]

Just do the correct thing & use that 2nd pick to draft Simpson.

 

[Stout]

Simpson was awesome for about 9 games this past year. There is some speculation that he was playing with a back injury those last 5 games that significantly impacted his ability. Based on those 9 great games, he looked like a legit franchise quarterback.

I could give him the benefit of the doubt there, and instead base him as a prospect on his entire body of work. The problem is, that IS his entire collegiate body of work. As a prospect, he is 100 percent incomplete. He's the kind of risk you simply don't take with an early pick. When probably 99 percent of the QBs picked in the modern era with similar number of starts fail, why believe he's going to be the exception? If he falls to the third? Sure, take a gamble on him, but he's not the gamble I would prefer there.

 

[BritCard]

If there is one football trend I believe in it's that all Bama QBs suck in the NFL and I have no interest in trying to break that rule with a guy that played a single season.

 

[Harry]

They don't really have a choice. It's a meh draft, there are no good QB options and the FA class is devoid of top talent.

Which is why I would have kept JG for another year instead of dumping Mike into a sub optimal situation.

Possible bird in the hand theory

 

[Harry]

The combine inflates so many QB prospects. That where A Richardson made his money. Total crap QB.

You right about it being a risky measure historically

 

[602 Native]

I don't think his stock "rose" because of his combine throwing. It either reinforced what teams felt was a positive or a negative. His stock my have risen because of his interviews with teams which most people would say is more important than on-field work. If teams had concerns about his play last year or his overall inexperience, that is where those would have been addressed.

Very different from ARich (in my opinion).

Again what are you arguing.

You said yourself that his stock rose at the combine just like I did.

Only you care about the reason.

 

[Chopper0080]

Here is a summary of Simpson.

1 - Teams are going to vary in their comfort level regarding his number of starts. It's a valid concern but also hasn't prevented players from being drafted high historically.

2 - Concerns about his size and arm strength are being overstated. He isn't huge and isn't small. His arm is good, but I don't know anyone claiming it is great. Both traits are well within 1st round historical norms.

3 - His level of play. This is another area where evaluators are going to view it differently based on the same tape. Teams that like him will cite his first games of the season and argue the team broke down around him which impacted his level of play. Teams that don't will argue his play declined based on more film on him, and poor mechanics.

4 - The rest is just determining his intangibles. Work ethic. Mind set. Leadership. A lot of buzz words that are judged by teams when they meet and do their research about a player (aka we don't have it)

 

[Chopper0080]

Again what are you arguing.

You said yourself that his stock rose at the combine just like I did.

Only you care about the reason.

When teams publicly say that the medical and the interviews are the things that matter most about the combine, and then a player rises based on those things...it's different than rising because of a 40.

 

[Chopper0080]

If there is one football trend I believe in it's that all Bama QBs suck in the NFL and I have no interest in trying to break that rule with a guy that played a single season.

Are you not factoring in a different HC in this equation? That is akin to stating Oklahoma produces NFL QBs based on Baker, Kyler, Hurts when Lincoln Riley no longer coaches Oklahoma.

 

[Harry]

Are you not factoring in a different HC in this equation? That is akin to stating Oklahoma produces NFL QBs based on Baker, Kyler, Hurts when Lincoln Riley no longer coaches Oklahoma.

Better to indict Saban. I thinka guy named Namath played there.

 

[CardNots]

i'll be bummed if we don't draft love - we have a rare opportunity here

That will be the two of us.

I’m wondering who the Cardinals think will be pick #2. If Love goes at 2, what do the Cards do at #3?

 

[602 Native]

If there is one football trend I believe in it's that all Bama QBs suck in the NFL and I have no interest in trying to break that rule with a guy that played a single season.

He only played a single season as a starter?

In the biggest game of his life crap the bed.

He would be such a Cardinal pick.

I don’t know what people are saying is great about him with such a small sample size. He could be great but more than likely he will be just another camp arm like Tune.

 

[kerouac9]

This but also, why stick your new HC with a known stealing pile of crap? They knew they were moving on from Kyler, they knew what the QB market looked like. I just don't know what the FO saw as the upside here. What do they expect Mike to do? And if they want to talk for a 2027 QB that's best done with JG.

I like Mike but it also severely limits your HC search options because they too can see the steaming pile of crap ahead.

The only available upside for MLF is he has a losing season but somehow gets 7 wins.

I mean you were on the board in January. The Cards could not have stood pat without risking alienating the fan base. Michael had to do something similar; I have sympathy for the Big Red Service team (if they still exist) ringing up Season Ticket Holders asking about their experience this year.

Cards couldn’t get rid of Kyler until March and had to perform kabuki theater about how they valued him. Maybe Gannon said he’d like Kyler back, knowing it was legitimately his highest probability route to winning games in 2026.

I’ll say it again: I don’t understand people who are resigned to losing. Only six games are in division every year. That’s 11 out-of-division games. We could try and have an eight-win season and have something to truly build on.

If you follow the Prem, I expect the Brentford and Sunderland supporters are having a good time this year. They’re not going to win the league; they’re probably not even going to Europe. But they’re competing and have a chance most weeks.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

If you follow the Prem, I expect the Brentford and Sunderland supporters are having a good time this year. They’re not going to win the league; they’re probably not even going to Europe. But they’re competing and have a chance most weeks.

You're comparing two entirely different league structures - relegation alone is obviously motivation enough not to bottom out. The design of the NFL is to put the best players in the hands of the worst teams through the draft - there isn't anything remotely similar in the EPL.

 

[Cheesebeef]

He only played a single season as a starter?

In the biggest game of his life crap the bed.

He would be such a Cardinal pick.

Sounds like the last QB we took with the number 1 pick…

 

[kerouac9]

You're comparing two entirely different league structures - relegation alone is obviously motivation enough not to bottom out. The design of the NFL is to put the best players in the hands of the worst teams through the draft - there isn't anything remotely similar in the EPL.

That’s true but irrelevant to whether or not you have to be competitive in the top tier to provide entertainment value to fans.

Thats my point.

 

[Chopper0080]

Sounds like the last QB we took with the number 1 pick…

Essentially yes, Kyler is an example of a single-year starter getting drafted in the 1st round. People may quibble with the 3 games he started in 2015. Hard to tell what teams care about these things but some generally do.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

That’s true but irrelevant to whether or not you have to be competitive in the top tier to provide entertainment value to fans.

Thats my point.

Yeah, we tried this with Gannon thinking it was a new horizon last year - instead it was a total disaster. Considering we quite obviously don't have the horses to compete in this division let alone the league, I can understand the idea of facing reality and rebuilding. But their moves so far have been...confusing, as Theo articulates so well!

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2026/03/10/arizona-cardinals-free-agent-moves-confuse-kyler-murray-minshew-latest-news/89076365007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=undefined&gca-ft=0&gca-ds=sophi&taid=69b02b04e4ff75000164b9b9&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

 

[az jam]

Better to indict Saban. I thinka guy named Namath played there.

So did Hall of Fame Kenny Stabler.

 

[JohnnyCakes]

If there is one football trend I believe in it's that all Bama QBs suck in the NFL and I have no interest in trying to break that rule with a guy that played a single season.

Bart Starr (x2) •Joe Namath •Ken Stabler •Jalen Hurts

J/K!

 

[Goldfield]

They don't really have a choice. It's a meh draft, there are no good QB options and the FA class is devoid of top talent.

Which is why I would have kept JG for another year instead of dumping Mike into a sub optimal situation.

I understand the thinking but it was time for JG to go

 

[kerouac9]

Yeah, we tried this with Gannon thinking it was a new horizon last year - instead it was a total disaster. Considering we quite obviously don't have the horses to compete in this division let alone the league, I can understand the idea of facing reality and rebuilding. But their moves so far have been...confusing, as Theo articulates so well!

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2026/03/10/arizona-cardinals-free-agent-moves-confuse-kyler-murray-minshew-latest-news/89076365007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=undefined&gca-ft=0&gca-ds=sophi&taid=69b02b04e4ff75000164b9b9&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

I’ve been pretty consistent that you always try to construct the best team you can for the year ahead, because the NFL laughs at long-term plans.

I’d disagree we were non-competitive in-division last year. With Kyler we lost our first two division games by four total points.

Obviously with Brissett we never stood a chance against anyone, which is why it’s so confounding that professional football people on Hardy Drive and some here think that Jacoby Brissett can somehow keep things respectable.

A good season to build on next year would look like:

Going 1-5 in division
Going 2-2 against the NFC East
Going 1-3 against the AFC East
Going 2-1 against our last place, non-common opponents.

That would be something to build on for the year ahead, but I think the happy tank commanders here would be very upset if we got the 8th overall pick.

 

[DVontel]

Are you not factoring in a different HC in this equation? That is akin to stating Oklahoma produces NFL QBs based on Baker, Kyler, Hurts when Lincoln Riley no longer coaches Oklahoma.

Helmet-scouting in 2026 is hilarious.

 

[daves]

Oh shocking that the plagiarism machine gave questionable results.

If the prompt was, "Coaches who went to the Super Bowl in their first year with a new team", it's not questionable.

If you were looking for first-time head coaches who went to the Super Bowl, then obviously you can delete Gruden, Kubiak, and Vrabel from the list.

Most AI these days, including Gemini, provides references so you can check their work.