Arizona Cardinals' position-by-position NFL draft series: QB/RB/WR

The Cardinals are coming off a 4-13 season and presently have eight picks, including three compensatory selections, in this year’s NFL Draft, which begins Thursday. They also own the No. 3 overall pick in the first round unless they trade down to acquire more selections, which is entirely possible and rather likely.

Starting today, The Republic offers a daily, five-part series of where the franchise stands at multiple positions and how the club may decide to address those spots through the draft.

Today: QBS/WRs/RBs

Players under contract: At quarterback, it’s Kyler Murray, Colt McCoy, David Blough and Jeff Driskel. At wide receiver, it’s DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown, Rondale Moore, Zach Pascal, Greg Dortch, Auden Tate, Javon Wims and Andre Baccellia. At running back, it’s James Conner, Corey Clement, Keaontay Ingram and Ty’Son Williams.

Draft DEFCON level (1-5): 3

Explanation: Arizona chose not to sign any sort of big-to-even-marginal-name quarterback until Murray is 100 percent recovered from his ACL rehab. After the addition of Driskel it appears the Cardinals believe they are set at that position.

At wide receiver and running back, it’s likely a completely different story.

At receiver, of course, everything depends on what happens with No. 1 wideout DeAndre Hopkins and whether the ongoing rumors are true that he could be dealt elsewhere. If it happens, it could occur at some point during the draft and it also could drag out into the summer, at least until June 2, when dealing him would allow the team to spread out his cap hit over two years.

If Arizona does decide to move on from Hopkins, expect the team to select a wide receiver with one of their selections in either the second or third round, where the club is slated to pick at Nos. 34, 66 and 96. Size at receiver has been an issue, but the Cardinals did add some length there during the offseason via some lesser-known names. The Cardinals must add another talented playmaker, however, should they part ways with D-Hop.

At running back, veteran James Conner once again will be expected to carry the load as the primary ball carrier, but make no mistake, the Cardinals will be eyeing a prospect to help create a dynamic tandem in the backfield. They have met with a handful of running back prospects since the scouting combine and it appears clear they are more than willing to bring in a rookie to be the primary backup or part-time starter next to Conner, who has had injury issues but remains mostly a rock.

Potential prospects on the radar: At wide receiver, keep your eyes on former TCU standout Quentin Johnston, the 6-foot-3 speedster whom the Cardinals have already had in for a private visit. He’s one of the top-ranked wideouts overall and would probably be the No.1 pass catcher selected in this draft if he didn’t have so many issues with dropped balls for the Horned Frogs. He could be a steal, though, with pick No. 34.

Other receivers who might be in the mix include the sleek Jalin Hyatt from Tennessee, teammate Cedric Tillman, who is one of the more physical prospects in this draft, A.T. Perry from Wake Forest and possibly Jonathan Mingo from Ole Miss, whom the Cardinals interviewed at the combine.

Considering how teams can find quality running backs in the middle to late rounds and even as undrafted rookie free agents, the Cardinals might not necessarily go for broke at this spot.

With their first pick in the second round, however, they could easily snag one of the top-rated tailbacks in this year’s draft in former Alabama star Jahmyr Gibbs, generally rated as the second-best running back behind former Texas standout and former Arizona high school star Bijan Robinson (Tucson Salpointe Catholic).

If for some reason Robinson doesn’t go in the first round, which seems unlikely, the Cardinals should jump at the opportunity to select him with their second pick as he rushed for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns this past season and is an electrifying talent that can quickly and most assuredly become the team’s No.1 back.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Analysis on what the Arizona Cardinals face in the NFL draft