The Arizona Cardinals have the 24th pick in this year's NFL Draft. The Cardinals have traded down at some point in each of the lat two NFL Drafts with Steve Keim as the team's general manager.
But would the Cardinals trade up?
I am not going to say it is is even a real rumor, but one NFL Draft Twitter account claimed the Cardinals made a call to the Houston Texans about possibly trading up to the 16th pick in the draft "if their player is there."
It comes with no source and it is the only time I have every seen it, so there is no reason to believe this actually happened.
But for the sake of speculation, let's play around with this possible scenario.
First of all, who would be worth trading up for? One would figure it would be one of the top pass rushers -- Bud Dupree, Vic Beasley, Shane Ray or Randy Gregory. Other players like Eli Harold or Preston Smith are more likely to be available at number 24.
Personally, I would speculate "their player" would be Dupree. Beasley will be long gone. Ray and Gregory have recently been falling down mock draft boards.
If you think of other positions the Cardinals might focus on -- cornerback or running back -- it doesn't make much sense to trade up, as there are solid options at both positions later on. Good pass rushing prospects are much harder to find.
What would it cost to move up eight spots?
Arizona traded down seven spots last year and netted a third round pick from the Saints. Would a guy like Dupree, Ray or Gregory be worth giving up this year's third round pick? It has been a productive round for the Cardinals. They got Tyrann Mathieu and John Brown each of the past two drafts. They also picked up Kareem Martin, although he hasn't produced anything yet in the league.
Seth Cox said last year the Cardinals were willing to trade up to get quarterback Blake Bortles if he fell past the eighth pick. That never happened, but it shows Keim is willing to move up if there is a player he really wants.
The question is this -- is moving up worth landing someone like Dupree?