B
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals let Payton fall and pounced. Final grade: B.
by pj_doucette ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 3 steals
· 0 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Cole Payton tumbling to the Cardinals in No. 217 is a gift they did not have to think twice about. More right than wrong, and a B to match.
For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain. Quarterback was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
The trenches got the money picks, top to bottom.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 3 they get a blindside protector at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They let Colton Hood come to them and pounced at pick No. 34. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Michael Taaffe. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Ted Hurst slipping to Round 4, Pick 4 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
DeMonte Capehart in the 143rd pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
By-the-book stuff, Matt Gulbin at the Round 6 slot squarely in line with his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Cole Payton in pick 217 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.