D-
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals left with their quarterback, and a D- to match.
by EAT IT AND WEEP ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
The Cardinals lost the trade war and it was not close, handing partners the better end again and again. A D- that will need time and luck to look better.
They have staked the next five years on Jayden Daniels, which is the only story that really matters here. The Cardinals indulged a want in Tampa while a need in tight end stayed open. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through tight end.
The Barrett steal is the beam this whole class leans on. The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
In the end, a class the front office will want to grow past quickly.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Marvin Harrison Jr. at par in slot 1, which is nothing to complain about. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
In pick 4 they get a blindside protector. The biggest hole, addressed.
In Round 1, Pick 7 they get their guy under center for the next decade at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In No. 16 they get a press-man option on the boundary at fair value. More want than need.
In the Round 1 slot they get a cornerstone up front at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In pick No. 25 they get a bendy edge with upside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the 26th overall pick they get a difference-maker at receiver at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Leonard Taylor III in the 47th pick. It fills a real need, too.
A slide stopped in pick 53, with Chop Robinson worth more than the price. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They paid sticker price for Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in pick No. 66, and that is fine. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, T.J. Tampa adds a cornerback and leaves tight end untouched.
A clean, defensible pick in the 85th overall pick with a little surplus value in Trey Benson. The roster fit checks out.
A straight-up fair deal on Tommy Eichenberg at Round 4, Pick 4, value and slot in agreement. A need, and now a little less of one.
Mohamed Kamara in slot 124 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Mike Sainristil in No. 133 leaves tight end for later.
Somehow Khyree Jackson was still sitting there in the Round 5 slot, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
No drama and no debate, Miyan Williams went about where he belonged in pick No. 188. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Roger Rosengarten in No. 225 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Sheridan Jones at Round 7, Pick 7 is the proof. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
They will replay Michael Barrett at pick 236 for years; that is how good the value is. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.