CARDINALS MOCK DRAFT GRADE B-

  1. Home
  2. My Stuff
  3. Cards mock

Cards mock B-

URL cards-mock-3700

Letter grade with a four-component score, written analysis, and a pick-by-pick breakdown for every selection in this saved mock.

My Mock Drafts →
Grade another draft →
B-

Arizona Cardinals

A respectable, level-headed haul for the Cardinals: B-.

by kc · 2024 NFL Draft · 13 picks · 2 steals · 5 reaches
Value B-
Need B+
Trades B-
Future B-

There is reaching, and then there is Braden Fiske at the Round 5 slot. The Cardinals jumped the board by 32 and dared it to prove them wrong. It nets out to a B-, which feels about right.

For all the activity, quarterback went untouched, which is hard to explain. Landing Singer that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. Job largely done: wide receiver settled and 6 of 8 of the wish list covered.

Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.

Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.

Pick-by-Pick

R1.3 · Pick 3 · Joe Alt · OT · rank 3
In slot 3 they get a long-term starter on the line. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
R1.17 · Pick 17 · Jared Verse · DE-EDGE · rank 21
In pick No. 17 they get a quarterback's worst nightmare at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
R2.3 · Pick 35 · Brian Thomas Jr. · WR · rank 52
They paid up for Brian Thomas Jr. at pick 35 when waiting would have done the job. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R3.3 · Pick 67 · Leonard Taylor III · DL · rank 68
No drama and no debate, Leonard Taylor III went about where he belonged in the 67th pick. The roster fit checks out.
R3.9 · Pick 73 · Jackson Powers-Johnson · C · rank 80
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jackson Powers-Johnson. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R3.17 · Pick 81 · Cooper DeJean · CB · rank 60
Cooper DeJean in No. 81 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It adds depth where they could use a little.
R4.3 · Pick 103 · Audric Estime · RB · rank 111
They paid a round early for Audric Estime in Round 4, Pick 3, more than the board wanted. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R4.33 · Pick 133 · Payton Wilson · LB · rank 144
Payton Wilson at the Round 4 slot is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It fills a real need, too.
R5.4 · Pick 140 · Braden Fiske · DL · rank 172
Braden Fiske in pick No. 140 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A need, and now a little less of one.
R5.29 · Pick 165 · T.J. Sanders · DT · rank 180
They went early on T.J. Sanders in No. 165, and the value did not follow. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R6.23 · Pick 198 · Dorian Singer · WR · rank 176
The board fumbled Dorian Singer all the way to pick 198, and they scooped it up. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R7.4 · Pick 224 · Chau Smith-Wade · CB · rank 228
By-the-book stuff, Chau Smith-Wade at the 224th pick squarely in line with his ranking. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
R7.7 · Pick 227 · Kaimon Rucker · DL-EDGE · rank 221
A clean, defensible pick in the 227th overall pick with a little surplus value in Kaimon Rucker. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
View Full Draft