Arizona Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort threw a curveball in April’s NFL draft when he snagged University of Miami quarterback Carson Beck in the third round. Seriously, eyebrows went up all over the place. Fans were asking: A third-rounder? Who is this guy? How is he gonna make any difference on a roster that everyone thought was aiming to tank the 2026 season for a top-tier QB next year? The pick was the very first in Round 3, and a lot of folks were scratching their heads, wondering why waste a pick on someone who wasn’t expected to help right away.
The Questions Around That Third-Round Pick
Let’s be real, a lot of the talk around the Cardinals had been about building for the future. The idea was to stack up for a shot at one of those blue-chip college signal-callers everyone is raving about, like Arch Manning or Dante Moore, who are already on the Heisman watch list. So, taking a QB like Beck in Round 3, especially when key positions like DT Tyler Onyedim, DE Keyron Crawford, and OT Markel Bell were taken right after him? Those guys could actually make a dent on the roster *this year*. Beck was only the third quarterback chosen overall, after Fernando Mendoza went first overall to the Raiders and Ty Simpson surprisingly landed at 13 with the Rams. No QBs even came off the board in the second round. It just felt like Ossenfort might have wasted a valuable pick on a guy who wasn’t going to be the franchise savior.
History Says You Can’t Count Out the Underdogs
But hold up. Let’s pump the brakes on the doom and gloom. If you know your football history, you know that great quarterbacks don’t always wear that shiny first-round badge. Think about it: Joe Montana was a third-round pick. Our own Russell Wilson? Also a third-rounder! Bart Starr went in Round 17. Brian Sipe in Round 13. Mark Brunell Round 5. Mark Rypien a round later. Washington legend Joe Theismann got picked in Round 4. Johnny Unitas in Round 9. And how many QBs were taken before Tom Brady heard his name called in Round 6? Yeah, it’s a lot. There are probably more first-round busts than success stories at the position: Johnny Football, Ryan Leaf, Marcus Mariota, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Jim Drunkenmiller, and even the Cardinals’ own Josh Rosen. Even Dan Marino was a first-round pick after five other quarterbacks had already come off the board.
All this circles back to Carson Beck. He’s got the physical tools NFL coaches love: 6′-5″ and a beefy 235 pounds. This isn’t some tiny slinger. And get this: he was voted “Florida Mr. Football” as a high school senior and the USA Today Offensive Player of the Year. The talent is there. This pick might have had everyone raising an eyebrow at first, but maybe Ossenfort wasn’t wasting a pick at all. Maybe he saw a guy who could become that diamond in the rough, the one everyone else overlooked. What Beck does on the field will be the real test for the Cardinals, and it’s gonna be fascinating to watch what he brings to the table.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Revenge of the Birds.
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