Three Potential Trade Targets for Arizona Cardinals
So far in 2022, Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has been fairly active in the trade market.
Outside of the draft day trade that brought Marquise Brown to the desert, Keim has also given away four Day Three picks to bring in G Cody Ford, CB Trayvon Mullen, and most recently, WR Robbie Anderson.
Often criticized for his drafts, Keim has built a reputation in the league for his trades in the past which include two of the biggest franchise-changing trades in Cardinals history; the acquisitions of Chandler Jones from the New England Patriots and DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans.
Now with only six days left before the NFL trade deadline, many Cardinals fans are wondering if Keim has one more big move up his sleeve.
The Cardinals started the year on a bad foot and went 2-4 in the absence of their star receiver in Hopkins. However, a big win against the Saints on Thursday night put the Cards only one game behind in a shockingly average NFC West.
Within striking distance of the division, and in a much-weakened division and conference in 2022, it would make sense for the Cardinals to make a splash for a player that could immediately impact the team.
Three Potential Trade Targets for Arizona Cardinals
1. Daron Payne, DT - Washington Commanders
Daron Payne is easily the most talked about player in connection with the Cardinals before the trade deadline.
The seven-year veteran stands at 6-foot-3, 320 pounds and provides a big body in the center of the defensive line.
With DT Rashard Lawrence going on IR, it would only make sense to go out and get a good player that is most likely an upgrade at the position.
Payne, a former first-round selection, is in a contract year and is currently playing well in 2022 with 3.5 sacks on the season.
A defensive line group of Zach Allen (also in a contract year and playing well), JJ Watt, and Payne would be quite formidable against the run and at getting to the quarterback.
Washington has a lot of young talent on the defensive side of the ball that will need to be paid soon which might leave a player like Payne in the lurch. It would make sense for the Commanders to move the young guy and get some draft capital. Currently, most analysts expect a mid-high Day 2 draft pick would get it done.
2. Trysten Hill, DT - Dallas Cowboys
Another potential replacement for Lawrence could come in the form of Trysten Hill from the Dallas Cowboys.
A former second-round pick from UCF, Hill has been languishing away on a Dallas defensive depth chart that is blessed with talent up front.
Due to that, he hasn't had much a chance to get going for the Cowboys, only 346 snaps in four seasons, and might be looking for an opportunity to get real snaps on a team with needs at the position.
Because of his lack of production up to this point in the season, the draft capital needed to bring in Hill should be fairly minimal. Most likely a Day Three pick would get it done.
Hill would not be as flashy as Payne, but it would help address a current need on the team and be a cheap move, something appealing to Keim.
3. Sean Murphy-Bunting, CB - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This move has Steve Keim written all over it.
A young, struggling cornerback that has promise but has fallen off with his current team? Keim is chomping at the bits.
Murphy-Bunting was a second-round pick in 2019 that the Buccaneers were incredibly high on for his first two seasons with the team. He was part of the 2020 Super Bowl team and was supposed to be a key part of a young secondary alongside Antoine Winfield Jr. and Carlton Davis but has only seen the field for 42 snaps this season.
No longer a part of the starting lineup, it would make sense that the Bucs would be willing to move the 24-year old cornerback.
Keim has already traded for a corner this season, Trayvon Mullen from the Las Vegas Raiders, but Mullen has been dealing with injuries that have held him to only 19 snaps on the season.
Byron Murphy Jr., Marco Wilson, and the recently returned Antonio Hamilton have done a semi-respectable job in the secondary so far, but it is clearly a position group that could use an injection of talent.
If Keim saw something in Murphy-Bunting, don't be surprised if he is willing to part with another late round pick to give him a chance to revitalize his career in Arizona.
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