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Cardinals 'don't feel an enormous amount of pressure' to draft QB this year

Can Arizona get a franchise quarterback with the 15th pick?

The big, burning question for the Arizona Cardinals as they enter the NFL draft next week is again whether and when they draft a quarterback of the future. They have put it off year after year, but perhaps will pull the trigger this year.

Of course, picking 15th overall, they are not likely going to take one of the top four prospects, and many believe it is too high to select one of the next tier of players.

Team president Michael Bidwill is very aware of the situation and knows it has to happen at some point, but doesn’t feel like the team needs to force anything.

“We know we need a quarterback of the future,” he told Dan Bickley and Vince Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “We don’t feel an enormous amount of pressure, but we want to make the best decisions for the team.

“It’s a fluid situation when you’re picking at 15. You don’t know who’s going to be there and you’ve got to make decisions about moving up, as how much you want to mortgage the future.”

He indicated there are “a lot of factors,” and that is true. To move up in the draft, they have to feel convicted that the player will be a franchise quarterback. They have to have a trade partner and they have to have the assets to trade, and they have to offer something better than another team is there is any competition for the pick.

Arizona has not drafted a quarterback in the first round since Matt Leinart in 2006. Since that time, the earliest they have drafted one is in the fourth round.

Many would say it is time and they would be foolish to not come away from this draft without one of the top six or seven players at the position. This class is too deep and the Cardinals have too much uncertainty.

Nonetheless, it is possible it doesn’t happen. That is what makes the draft fun.

“We’ll know next week for sure.”

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