A Passing Offense Waiting for a Spark
The 2025 season wasn’t entirely a wash. When Murray suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 5, Jacoby Brissett stepped in and kept the offense breathing. Brissett didn’t just manage games; he aggressively pushed the football down the field. He finished the year tossing for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns, and only eight interceptions.
More importantly, the veteran’s presence elevated the young core. Tight end Trey McBride turned in an elite, position-leading season. Meanwhile, wideout Michael Wilson finally broke out, crossing the 1,000-yard threshold and establishing himself as a legitimate WR1. The weapons are in place in the desert. The missing ingredient is a long-term, dynamic presence under center.
The Charles Davis Curveball
Most draft experts pen a top-tier tackle like Francis Mauigoa or Spencer Fano to Arizona. But NFL Media analyst Charles Davis sent shockwaves through the league this week with his Mock Draft 3.0. He ignored the trenches entirely and projected Simpson to the Cardinals at No. 3.
Davis drew a direct comparison to the New York Giants trading up for Jaxson Dart last cycle. He believes Arizona will secure their guy, even if it requires some draft board gymnastics in the first round.
“This year, I think Simpson ends up with the Cardinals, even if this is not the spot where they pick him.”
— Charles Davis, NFL Media Analyst
What’s Next for the Arizona Front Office?
If the Cardinals pull the trigger on Simpson, it immediately shifts the NFC West power dynamic. Ossenfort recently added Minshew on a one-year, $5 million deal to compete with Brissett. That creates the perfect bridge-quarterback scenario. Simpson, who started just 15 games at Alabama, could sit, learn, and adapt to head coach Mike LaFleur’s system without the immediate pressure of saving a struggling franchise.
I stood on the sidelines during Alabama’s Pro Day earlier this month. The chilly morning wind didn’t deter the scouts, who turned the sidelines into a sea of team logos. When Simpson launched a deep ball 65 yards down the hash marks, the crack of the football hitting the receiver’s hands echoed through the facility. The Arizona personnel in attendance didn’t even try to hide their grins. You could almost feel the tension in the air as the realization hit that this kid might be the exact answer they need.
Drafting a quarterback this high is a massive gamble, especially for a front office that just closed the book on the Kyler Murray era. But with a roster desperate for a new identity, Ossenfort might just decide that the upside of a blue-chip SEC quarterback is too high to pass up.
