D
Arizona Cardinals
Green is the Cardinals' new face under center. Grade: D.
by Cashydemon ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 1 steals
· 15 reaches
They will call it conviction in the building and a reach everywhere else: Raesjon Davis, 195 picks early at the 253rd overall pick. A D that will need time and luck to look better.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. They have staked the next five years on Taylen Green, which is the only story that really matters here.
Wetjen at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 3 they get a franchise quarterback, a steep price for the projection. Exactly the need they had to hit.
The board had cheaper options than Max Iheanachor at pick 34, and it noticed. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid sticker price for Mike Washington Jr. in No. 65, and that is fine. It fills a real need, too.
A wild overpay on Zavion Thomas in the 104th overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Keyshaun Elliott at pick No. 108 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached into another round for Dalton Johnson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Eric O'Neill well ahead of where he belonged. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jerry Wilson in No. 183 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Khalil Dinkins at Round 6, Pick 11 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A real head-scratcher, Lake McRee in the 193rd overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
TJ Ferguson at slot 217 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Clayton Smith. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value said wait; Gabriel Rubio in the Round 7 slot says they were not listening. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Kaden Wetjen in the 251st pick, plain and simple. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A big swing on Fernando Carmona at the 252nd pick, well ahead of any board in the building. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They reached a country mile for Raesjon Davis at pick No. 253, and the board is aghast. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jordan White in pick 257, miles early. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.