B
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals drew a line under the quarterback search with Mendoza: B.
by Reheheheheh ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 5 steals
· 0 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Cardinals committed. Fernando Mendoza is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. The bottom line is a respectable B.
They banked enough surplus on Taaffe to cover a lot of smaller sins. That wide receiver 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.
Almost all the early capital went to that side of the ball.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 3 they get a passer to set the clock by. Exactly the need they had to hit.
R Mason Thomas at the 34th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
You do not let an edge rusher like Akheem Mesidor reach Round 3, Pick 1 and blink. They did not. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Circle this one: Michael Taaffe at the 104th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A slide stopped in the Round 5 slot, with Jude Bowry worth more than the price. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A quiet steal in slot 183: Bryce Boettcher for less than the market said. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Nyjalik Kelly is a better player than pick No. 217 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.