B
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals let Smith-Wade fall into their laps, and walked away with a B.
by Colin ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
Give the war room a raise for the dealing alone. The Cardinals came out ahead on every exchange that mattered, and it was not close.
They punted on quarterback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. Every board in the league had Bullock lower, and that gap is the story.
On value alone, Smith-Wade makes the weekend a net positive. It is not that Bullard is a bad player; it is that the Cardinals had louder needs to answer first.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 26 they get a bendy edge with upside. The biggest hole, addressed.
They jumped the gun on Calen Bullock, taking him earlier than his grade liked. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Josh Newton in Round 3, Pick 2 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Javon Bullard at safety with quarterback, running back and other spots open.
Roman Wilson at the 89th pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A surprising call. With quarterback, running back and other spots still to address, they spent pick 97 on Cade Stover, a TE-EDGE they were not short of.
They did well to land Tyler Davis in the Round 4 slot, just ahead of his grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Steal is underselling it; Chau Smith-Wade at pick No. 188 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Ben Bywater in the 225th overall pick. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They let Christian Jones come to them and pounced at the 227th pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.