D
Arizona Cardinals
Not the weekend the Cardinals were hoping for: D.
by Kev05555 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
Call it belief, call it a gut call, but Rodrick Pleasant at pick No. 3 is 465 spots clear of consensus, and that is the headline. The process wobbled, and the D is where it lands.
Tate at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. They will regret leaving edge rusher for another day if the season turns on it.
In the end, a class the front office will want to grow past quickly.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 3 they get a ballhawk on the outside, though the board says they badly overpaid.
Isaac Smith at No. 34 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A minor itch, scratched.
A real head-scratcher, Jude Bowry in Round 3, Pick 1 is miles ahead of his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Sam Hecht at slot 104 is the proof. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
You do not let a wide receiver like Carnell Tate reach the 143rd pick and blink. They did not. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Preston Stone in the Round 6 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Zane Durant in slot 217 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It fills a real need, too.