B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by Jrico1020 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 0 steals
· 1 reaches
The real work happened on the phones. The Cardinals fleeced their trade partners, turning their picks into a noticeably bigger pile than they started with.
Every board in the league had Thomas lower, and that gap is the story. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the quarterback spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 21 they get a lockdown presence outside at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
In pick No. 26 they get a weapon on the perimeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Graham Barton at pick 35 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
T'Vondre Sweat in the Round 2 slot is fair value, right on his grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Mekhi Wingo. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A reasonable price with a little left over, James Williams in No. 133. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Javion Cohen at the 140th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Christian Jones at the 188th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Steele Chambers in the 225th overall pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Xavier Thomas in No. 227, miles early. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.