A-
Arizona Cardinals
Larceny in pick No. 188 lands the Cardinals a A-, Monheim and all.
by THEGREATEST ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 6 steals
· 1 reaches
The Cardinals ran the phones like sharks, prying loose value on deal after deal until the ledger was lopsided. This is how you run a draft, and the A- reflects it.
They will answer for taking cornerback early while quarterback and linebacker went begging. They banked enough surplus on Monheim to cover a lot of smaller sins. Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, JC Latham and all.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 15 they get a long-term starter on the line. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the Round 1 slot they get juice off the edge at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 22 they get a lockdown presence outside at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
Good price on JT Tuimoloau in the 35th overall pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on Ja'Lynn Polk in the 57th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Nice patience on Jermaine Burton, who had no business lasting to No. 71. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They took Mekhi Wingo at par in Round 3, Pick 8, which is nothing to complain about. It fills a real need, too.
Trey Benson at the Round 3 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Braden Fiske in pick 97 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A slide stopped in the 104th overall pick, with Tykee Smith worth more than the price. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Dominick Puni at pick No. 105 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Max Melton adds a cornerback and leaves quarterback and linebacker untouched.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Khyree Jackson in No. 133 leaves quarterback and linebacker for later.
They went early on McCallan Castles in slot 140, and the value did not follow. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A straight-up fair deal on Malik Washington at pick No. 159, value and slot in agreement. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Jonah Monheim in the 188th overall pick, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They read the board right and Isaiah Neyor was the payoff at slot 225. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Zakhari Franklin slipping to the Round 7 slot is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.