B+
Arizona Cardinals
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Cardinals and Simpson: B+.
by BG23 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Cardinals were there to profit. Jaylin Simpson, the No. 147 name on the board, should have been long gone before pick 188. Call it a sensible B+, earned the boring way.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. They will regret leaving edge rusher for another day if the season turns on it. The Melton pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with edge rusher, tight end and other spots still on the board.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 4th pick they get a home-run threat at receiver at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the 28th overall pick they get a cornerstone up front. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A slide stopped in No. 35, with Keon Coleman worth more than the price. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 66, where Kingsley Suamataia graded well above the range. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Braden Fiske in pick 71 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The roster fit checks out.
Tyler Davis in the Round 3 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
By-the-book stuff, Khyree Jackson at slot 99 squarely in line with his ranking. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A surprising call. With edge rusher, tight end and other spots still to address, they spent Round 4, Pick 4 on Max Melton, a cornerback they were not short of.
No drama and no debate, Jordan Travis went about where he belonged in pick 133. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Will Shipley is a better player than pick No. 140 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jaylin Simpson in the 188th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
They took Joshua Cephus at par in the Round 7 slot, which is nothing to complain about. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No edge and no loss on Matthew Jones in Round 7, Pick 7; it is a wash and a sensible one. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.