CARDINALS MOCK DRAFT GRADE B

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2024 Mock Draft 3 B

URL 2024-mock-draft-3-5411

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 won the night they stopped Smith from sliding. Grade: B.

by bmorse011 · 2024 NFL Draft · 13 picks · 5 steals · 5 reaches
Value B
Need B+
Trades B-
Future B-

Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Cardinals were there to profit. Ainias Smith, the No. 161 name on the board, should have been long gone before pick No. 224. More right than wrong, and a B to match.

They will need Kneeland to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. They left with quarterback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off. The offense got the lion's share of the attention.

All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.

Pick-by-Pick

R1.3 · Pick 3 · Marvin Harrison Jr. · WR · rank 1
In pick No. 3 they get a difference-maker at receiver. Exactly the need they had to hit.
R1.17 · Pick 17 · Jer'Zhan Newton · DL · rank 16
In slot 17 they get an anchor for the defensive front at fair value. A real need, handled.
R2.3 · Pick 35 · Graham Barton · OT · rank 24
Graham Barton at the 35th overall pick is money in the bank, a offensive lineman taken below his worth. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R3.3 · Pick 67 · Marist Liufau · LB · rank 83
Marist Liufau in the Round 3 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R3.9 · Pick 73 · Marshawn Kneeland · DE-EDGE · rank 107
Marshawn Kneeland at Round 3, Pick 9 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R3.17 · Pick 81 · Will Shipley · RB · rank 100
Will Shipley at No. 81 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
R4.3 · Pick 103 · Cooper DeJean · CB · rank 60
They robbed the room for Cooper DeJean here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
R4.33 · Pick 133 · Kedon Slovis · QB · rank 147
Kedon Slovis at pick 133 is a conviction pick that outran the value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R5.4 · Pick 140 · Malik Mustapha · S · rank 145
Malik Mustapha at pick No. 140 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
R5.29 · Pick 165 · Theo Johnson · TE · rank 181
Theo Johnson at the Round 5 slot is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R6.23 · Pick 198 · Connor Colby · OT · rank 157
The board fumbled Connor Colby all the way to the 198th pick, and they scooped it up. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R7.4 · Pick 224 · Ainias Smith · WR · rank 161
Somehow Ainias Smith was still sitting there in the 224th overall pick, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R7.7 · Pick 227 · Darius Muasau · LB · rank 216
Value with a capital V on Darius Muasau in slot 227, a genuine coup. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
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