B
Arizona Cardinals
Mendoza is the plan now, and the Cardinals grade out a B.
by Reheheheheh ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 2 steals
· 3 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Cardinals committed. Fernando Mendoza is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. They moved the roster forward and banked a B for it.
They will need Klubnik to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. Barber falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. For all the activity, wide receiver went untouched, which is hard to explain.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but wide receiver.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 3rd overall pick they get the arm they will build around. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Malachi Lawrence at the Round 2 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Josiah Trotter at No. 65 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A need, and now a little less of one.
A big swing on Cade Klubnik at Round 4, Pick 4, well ahead of any board in the building. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Steal is underselling it; Austin Barber at the 143rd pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached into another round for Sawyer Robertson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Wesley Williams slid further than he should have, and slot 217 is lovely value for the edge rusher. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.