A-
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals leave the weekend clear winners: A-.
by elroy2k ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
The Cardinals clearly saw something nobody else did in Roman Hemby, taking him 138 picks ahead of his grade. The board is not convinced. It holds up to a second look, which is why it earns the A-.
Getting Bell where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up. They squeezed a little extra out of every move they made.
The Calen Bullock deal gives the class an established piece to lean on.
Add it up and this is about as clean as a draft weekend gets.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 28 they get a three-down second-level presence, and a steal at that. A clean fit for the roster.
Nice patience on Olaivavega Ioane, who had no business lasting to the Round 2 slot. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A tidy bit of business in the 38th overall pick, where Dillon Thieneman graded well above the range. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Value with a capital V on Lee Hunter in the 59th pick, a genuine coup. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Jacob Rodriguez slid further than he should have, and pick No. 65 is lovely value for the linebacker. It fills a real need, too.
A tidy little value on Keionte Scott in slot 69, a step better than break-even. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Circle this one: Skyler Bell at the 104th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Drew Allar at Round 5, Pick 3 is a conviction pick that outran the value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Keagen Trost in slot 183 is fair value, right on his grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Roman Hemby at the 217th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.