TEMPE – When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell steps to the podium and commences the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay Thursday, the Arizona Cardinals won’t blink.

General Manager Monti Ossenfort, in his third draft at the helm, has had the bittersweet luxury of being able to choose within the top six in the past two drafts. This year is different: the Cardinals pick at No. 16 overall, making it harder to project the players on the board.

The pre-draft process remains the same.

“It doesn’t change it at all,” Ossenfort said at his pre-draft media availability last week. “The process that we do, that our scouts do, that our coaches do. It’s the same every year, whether we’re picking at three or four like we have the last two years. To pick at 16 this year, we have to be ready. We never know what’s going to happen on draft night.”

Entering the unknown is the reality all 32 teams experience every draft. Being flexible is crucial. Ossenfort will make sure his front office is ready for anything.

“We’ll do a few exercises next week,” Ossenfort said. “Where we try to take a look at what we think is going to happen. But in reality, there are 32 teams, and their boards are (stacked in) 32 different ways … It’s just staying flexible and being ready to have options for whatever comes our way.”

The Cardinals could pursue different avenues with the No. 16 pick. With only six picks in the draft, the organization has various needs on the roster.

Ossenfort has a history of trading in the draft, so moving down and gaining more capital is a real possibility. Regardless of what the front office decides to do, the Cardinals’ main philosophy will stand true when they make a selection.

“We have places where we want to add, but, in the end, we want to add good football players and good people to increase the talent level and the competition on the roster,” Ossenfort said. “And we could do that at any position on the team when it’s our turn to pick, we’ll be ready to pick a player that falls into those categories.”

The Cardinals entered the offseason with a need for a revamped defensive line. They added players like Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell through free agency.

There are still other needs littered throughout the roster. Linebacker is a possibility, as the Cardinals are currently headed by Mack Wilson, while the interior offensive line could use some bodies. The philosophy of adding good football players is a mantra many front offices follow, but Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon understands one prevailing trend.

“Ever since I got into the business, it’s been (offensive and defensive lines),” Gannon said. “You watched the Super Bowl, and it was evident. So I think people are talking about a little bit more, but since he (Ossenfort) got into the business since I got into the business, that’s what you were taught from day one.”

It’s crunch time for the media who cover the draft, with many of the top analysts putting the final touches on their mock draft. Some of the bigger names within the industry have the Cardinals selecting a defensive player in the first round.

Todd McShay of The Ringer and Benjamin Solak of ESPN both have Arizona taking Jihaad Campbell, a linebacker out of Alabama. Meanwhile, Peter Schrager of ESPN has them choosing Jahdae Barron, a defensive back out of Texas.

Both picks would answer a “need” for the team based on the depth chart. Ossenfort doesn’t necessarily enter the draft trying to answer needs because of the league’s ever-changing landscape.

“I learned a long time ago that you know what is perceived as a need, or maybe not as a need one year, and fast forward three, four or five months later or a year later, all of a sudden it is a need,” Ossenfort said. “And injuries happen in this game. There’s player movement that happens from year to year. No matter where it is, if we can add an impact player, we can add that checks boxes for us, both on and off the field.”