A-
Arizona Cardinals
Best value of the weekend goes to the Cardinals for Cowing: A-.
by K ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Jacob Cowing slide, and the Cardinals were the ones holding the card at the 223rd overall pick. Highway robbery. It holds up to a second look, which is why it earns the A-.
The DeJean pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with quarterback and tight end still on the board. The Haynesworth pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a long-term starter on the line at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A curious use of the 21st overall pick. Quarterback and tight end needed the pick; a defensive back in Cooper DeJean did not.
A slide stopped in pick 34, with Nate Wiggins worth more than the price. A minor need, but a need all the same.
No drama and no debate, Blake Corum went about where he belonged in pick No. 66. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
No edge and no loss on Nazir Stackhouse in the 85th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A clean, defensible pick in No. 102 with a little surplus value in Payton Wilson. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They did well to land Connor Colby in Round 4, Pick 33, just ahead of his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland is a better player than slot 169 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Sincere Haynesworth at pick 198, and the board did not agree. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jacob Cowing in the 223rd overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Nothing to complain about; Omar Speights went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Xavier Truss in Round 7, Pick 32 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.