D+
Arizona Cardinals
A passer of the future in Penix Jr., and a D+, for the Cardinals.
by calreis27 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 13 steals
· 0 reaches
The trade table was where it all came apart. The Cardinals shipped out far more than they hauled back, and no amount of spin dresses up the bill.
Whatever Michael Penix Jr. becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. It is not that Mitchell is a bad player; it is that the Cardinals had louder needs to answer first.
That is a cornerback worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and edge rusher is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 17th overall pick they get a long-term answer under center, and a steal at that. The biggest hole, addressed.
In No. 31 they get a cornerstone up front at a price that makes it sweeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In Round 1, Pick 32 they get a lockdown presence outside, outstanding value to boot. Need was not the driver here.
A tidy bit of business in the 36th pick, where Jordan Morgan graded well above the range. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Ladd McConkey at the Round 2 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taking Adonai Mitchell in slot 71 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Quinyon Mitchell at cornerback with edge rusher, tight end and other spots open.
Circle this one: Patrick Paul at pick 80 is a fall that decides a draft. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
No drama and no debate, Bucky Irving went about where he belonged in pick 95. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A quiet steal in the 133rd pick: Cedric Gray for less than the market said. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They will replay Jamari Thrash at slot 141 for years; that is how good the value is. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Somehow Chau Smith-Wade was still sitting there in the 190th overall pick, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They robbed the room for Miyan Williams here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board fumbled Roger Rosengarten all the way to the Round 7 slot, and they scooped it up. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.