INDIANAPOLIS — Call it their first work retreat together. The NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
The first major event for the new Arizona Cardinals running the show. New General Manager Monti Ossenfort and Head Coach Jonathan Gannon are getting their first chance to truly flex their football minds.
More than 300 college players are ready to impress. All week – guys will go through workouts, physicals and meetings with teams (football pop quizzes included), it’s the ultimate background check. Gannon has been on the job less than 2 weeks, his staff is still incomplete, but that is where Ossenfort comes in. This is his wheel house. He’s been a scout most of his adult life.
Arizona is set to pick third overall in the upcoming NFL Draft. The guys most linked to them – Alabama’s Will Anderson, Georgia’s Jalen Carter and Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson. All guys who can get after the quarterback.
Some local kids here as well. Two of the best players to ever come out of Arizona and two of the best players in the country. Former All-Fever team members Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo from Saguaro and Texas running back Bijan Robinson from Salpointe Catholic in Tucson. The lone ASU Sun Devil here is defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera.
Here’s the schedule. Both Ossenfort and Gannon will answer questions on Tuesday, then Wednesday – we start hearing from the players.
The Combine is also where teams usually start having trade conversations for players and draft picks. The future of DeAndre Hopkins will come up. Reports surfaced after the season that the Cardinals would look to trade Hopkins. Hopkins met with Ossenfort before the Super Bowl to discuss his future with the team.
LIVE reports from the combine start Tuesday on 12News at 5.
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