Did Cardinals drop hints of taking Jeremiyah Love third overall in 2026 NFL Draft?

Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur during a pre-draft news conference on April 16, 2026, at the Arizona Cardinals training center in Tempe.

GLENDALE – Need or best overall is always a draft-time discussion for teams looking at their big board. For Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Mike LaFleur the answer is simple: need is overrated. The two of them spoke to the media on Thursday at the Dignity Health Training Center about their perspective heading into the 2026 NFL draft.

Ossenfort bluntly stated that it’s not a good idea to draft for need. Many NFL mock drafts has Arizona taking an offensive lineman or edge rusher because that is a high need for the roster. However, if it was strictly the best availability the answer is clearly Norte Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. Ossenfort went into depth about his perspective on drafting for need and why teams should be cautious of that mindset.

Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort during a pre-draft news conference on April 16, 2026, at the Arizona Cardinals training center in Tempe.

Ossenfort on Cardinals not looking at “need” ahead of NFL Draft:

“I never think it’s a good idea to go into a draft and draft for need. I don’t think that’s a good philosophy overall. I think you end up tending to reach at that point. The philosophy that I have that Mike and I have talked about is… we can never go wrong taking who we feel is the best player who fits this team, who is about what we’re about. And when somebody can check those boxes and it’s the guy who’s on the top of the board, like we’re going to be happy with that player, you know, whatever position they’re playing.”