B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by Stan93 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 38 picks
· 13 steals
· 18 reaches
Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Cardinals spent Round 4, Pick 25 on Cody Schrader, a name the board had a full 88 spots lower. It nets out to a B+, which feels about right.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Mitchell. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. On the needs board they went 8 of 8, with quarterback the one that mattered most.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
Rome Odunze is a better player than pick No. 18 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
In No. 27 they get a premier pass rusher, and a steal at that. The biggest hole, addressed.
You do not let a cornerback like Quinyon Mitchell reach the 51st pick and blink. They did not. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Roger Rosengarten. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They went early on Cade Stover in pick 71, and the value did not follow. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Marshawn Kneeland. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A quiet steal in Round 3, Pick 12: T'Vondre Sweat for less than the market said. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A wild overpay on Maason Smith in slot 84, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They robbed the room for Zach Frazier here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They let Andru Phillips come to them and pounced at pick 90. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
No drama and no debate, Cole Bishop went about where he belonged in No. 92. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Malik Washington in the 93rd pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
MarShawn Lloyd at pick No. 97 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
DeWayne Carter in the 105th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
By-the-book stuff, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. at slot 109 squarely in line with his ranking. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Tommy Eichenberg at the Round 4 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A need, and now a little less of one.
Malik Mustapha in pick 115 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
AJ Barner in pick No. 116 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board fumbled Christian Mahogany all the way to the 119th overall pick, and they scooped it up. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Beaux Limmer in Round 4, Pick 22, miles early. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Cody Schrader in the 125th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jalyx Hunt at No. 126 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A real head-scratcher, Myles Cole in the Round 5 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They talked themselves into Jordan Jefferson at slot 143, and the board did not agree. It fills a real need, too.
Taking Jacob Cowing in pick No. 148 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Decamerion Richardson at pick 162 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Nathaniel Watson this early at No. 165. The roster fit checks out.
They reached a country mile for Jaden Crumedy at the 169th pick, and the board is aghast. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Braiden McGregor at Round 6, Pick 3 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They did well to land Jordan Travis in the 186th overall pick, just ahead of his grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
James Williams slipping to the 187th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jaylon Carlies at the 195th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint at Round 6, Pick 22 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Justin Eboigbe slid further than he should have, and pick No. 202 is lovely value for the edge rusher. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Logan Lee at slot 218 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Value said wait; Brevyn Spann-Ford in the Round 6 slot says they were not listening. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Myles Murphy well ahead of where he belonged. It fills a real need, too.
Nice patience on Kimani Vidal, who had no business lasting to No. 226. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.