A-
Arizona Cardinals
Lovett should have been long gone. The Cardinals pounced, and earned a A-.
by clp4305 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
The board owed the Cardinals one, and it paid up: Dominic Lovett, the No. 191 name on the board, sitting there at the 224th overall pick like a gift left on the doorstep. A near-flawless weekend of work, and a A- to cap it.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. Every board in the league had Sawyer lower, and that gap is the story.
The linebacker spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Bottom line, with JT Tuimoloau leading the way, this is a class that should pay off fast and rarely be regretted.
Pick-by-Pick
JT Tuimoloau at the Round 1 slot is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
In pick 30 they get a disruptor off the edge, a steep price for the projection. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
This one needs a full-page explanation: McKinnley Jackson in Round 2, Pick 26, miles early. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Tyler Guyton in the 66th pick is fair value, right on his grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
No drama and no debate, TreVeyon Henderson went about where he belonged in pick No. 74. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board had Chris Braswell higher than No. 79, and the edge rusher fell to them anyway. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Brenden Rice at the 102nd overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jaheim Bell at slot 122 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the tight end. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A market-rate quarterback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on KJ Jefferson. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
By-the-book stuff, Jack Nelson at the 139th pick squarely in line with his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A quiet steal in the Round 5 slot: Ainias Smith for less than the market said. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A reach on Jaxson Dart in the 198th overall pick; the board had better options right there. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy little value on Ali Jennings in slot 223, a step better than break-even. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Dominic Lovett here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.