B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by BG23 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
If you want a masterclass in dealing, watch the Cardinals, who turned every swap into a profit this weekend. The bottom line is a respectable B+.
It is not that DeJean is a bad player; it is that the Cardinals had louder needs to answer first. On value alone, Simpson makes the weekend a net positive. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through tight end.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the tight end spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
Olumuyiwa Fashanu in the 5th pick is fair value, right on his grade. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
In Round 1, Pick 17 they get a disruptor off the edge. Exactly the need they had to hit.
No drama and no debate, Nate Wiggins went about where he belonged in pick No. 36. A minor itch, scratched.
A slide stopped in No. 47, with Keon Coleman worth more than the price. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A curious use of the Round 3 slot. Tight end needed the pick; a cornerback in Cooper DeJean did not.
They took Mekhi Wingo at par in the 71st overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Maason Smith at DT-EDGE with tight end open.
They paid sticker price for Devontez Walker in slot 104, and that is fine. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A market-rate quarterback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jordan Travis. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Beaux Limmer at pick 141 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A reach for Cody Schrader in the Round 5 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Value with a capital V on Jaylin Simpson in pick No. 183, a genuine coup. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Jacob Cowing at the 190th overall pick is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
By-the-book stuff, Omar Speights at Round 7, Pick 5 squarely in line with his ranking. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They paid a round early for Joshua Gray in the 226th pick, more than the board wanted. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.