CARDINALS MOCK DRAFT GRADE B

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Cards 26 B

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Letter grade with a four-component score, written analysis, and a pick-by-pick breakdown for every selection in this saved mock.

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B

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals let Golday fall and pounced. Final grade: B.

by Dnice · 2026 NFL Draft · 17 picks · 12 steals · 0 reaches
Value B+
Need B-
Trades C+
Future B+

The board owed the Cardinals one, and it paid up: Jake Golday, the No. 59 name on the board, sitting there at pick 92 like a gift left on the doorstep. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B.

That running back hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. The roster is better shaped than it was, with quarterback chief among the fixes. The hoard sets up next April more than it helps this September.

Good work on the whole, with running back the one box left unchecked.

Pick-by-Pick

R1.3 · Pick 3 · Caleb Downs · S · rank 1
In Round 1, Pick 3 they get a downhill hitter at safety. More want than need.
R3.1 · Pick 65 · Keith Abney II · CB · rank 43
Keith Abney II at pick 65 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A minor itch, scratched.
R3.20 · Pick 84 · Jake Slaughter · C · rank 55
Steal is underselling it; Jake Slaughter at the 84th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R3.28 · Pick 92 · Jake Golday · OLB · rank 59
A top-tier edge rusher at a bargain, Jake Golday in the 92nd pick, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R4.8 · Pick 108 · Kyle Louis · LB · rank 84
Kyle Louis in slot 108 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R4.16 · Pick 116 · Ted Hurst · WR · rank 89
Ted Hurst at No. 116 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R5.3 · Pick 143 · Eli Raridon · TE · rank 136
Eli Raridon in pick No. 143 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R5.7 · Pick 147 · DeMonte Capehart · DT · rank 138
A slide stopped in the Round 5 slot, with DeMonte Capehart worth more than the price. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R5.15 · Pick 155 · Dametrious Crownover · OT · rank 144
Dametrious Crownover is a better player than the 155th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R5.30 · Pick 170 · Kevin Coleman Jr. · WR · rank 163
Kevin Coleman Jr. in the Round 5 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R5.37 · Pick 177 · Ar'maj Reed-Adams · OG · rank 171
Good price on Ar'maj Reed-Adams in the 177th overall pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R6.1 · Pick 182 · Caleb Douglas · WR · rank 165
Caleb Douglas in pick No. 182 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R6.2 · Pick 183 · Aamil Wagner · OT · rank 173
Aamil Wagner slipping to pick 183 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R6.6 · Pick 187 · Taylen Green · QB · rank 188
Taylen Green in Round 6, Pick 6 is fair value, right on his grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R6.28 · Pick 209 · Ephesians Prysock · CB · rank 190
Circle this one: Ephesians Prysock at No. 209 is a fall that decides a draft. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
R7.1 · Pick 217 · Eric McAlister · WR · rank 197
They barely believed it either: Eric McAlister still on the board at slot 217. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R7.13 · Pick 229 · Keyshaun Elliott · LB · rank 219
They read the board right and Keyshaun Elliott was the payoff at the 229th pick. It fills a real need, too.
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