Arizona Cardinals receive seven excellent NFL Draft grades

• Round 1 Pick 4: Marvin Harrison Jr, Wide Receiver, Ohio State
• Round 1 Pick 27: Darius Robinson, Edge, Missouri
• Round 2 Pick 11: Max Melton, Cornerback, Rutgers
• Round 3 Pick 2: Trey Benson, Running back, Florida State
• Round 3 Pick 7: Isaiah Adams, Guard, Illinois
• Round 3 Pick 15: Tip Reiman, Tight End, Illinois
• Round 3 Pick 27: Elijah Jones, Cornerback, Boston College
• Round 4 Pick 4: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Safety, Texas Tech
• Round 5 Pick 3: Xavier Thomas, Edge, Clemson
• Round 5 Pick 27: Christian Jones, Tackle, Texas
• Round 6 Pick 15: Tejhaun Palmer, Wide Receiver, UAB
• Round 7 Pick 6: Jaden Davis, Cornerback, Miami
  

What the Arizona Cardinals Did Well

In Monti Ossenfort’s second season as general manager, the Arizona Cardinals made twelve selections in this year’s draft, the most by a team since 1992. When having as many picks as the Cardinals had they were able to strategically use each pick and maneuver throughout the draft board, to target specific team needs.

The biggest need for the Arizona Cardinals was at wide receiver. Not only did the Cardinals get the best outside weapon in the draft, but they selected arguably the greatest receiver prospect we’ve seen this decade in Marvin Harrison Jr. The Cardinals also added another playmaker in the draft who fits their scheme of big physical receivers, selecting Tejhaun Palmer late in the sixth round.

The next biggest need for the Arizona Cardinals was at cornerback. A season ago the Cardinals had the lowest-graded cornerback unit in the NFL per PFF. This need was addressed in free agency with the signing of Sean Murphy-Bunting. However, bringing in more talent to compete will only strengthen that unit, and the Cardinals selected three cornerbacks, Max Melton, Elijah Jones, and Jaden Davis, in this year’s draft.

“The Cardinals came into this draft with a ton of firepower, and GM Monti Ossenfort used his picks wisely” – The Ringer

What the Arizona Cardinals Did NOT Do Well

When making twelve selections in one draft, there is an increased chance for error, while the Cardinals had a very good draft, they did reach on a couple of picks.

The source of a lot of criticism for the Arizona Cardinals was the selection of Illinois offensive lineman Isaiah Adams. The Illinois product struggled in pass protection throughout his career leading many ‘experts’ to question whether or not he’s NFL-ready. Most ‘experts’ had Adams rated lower than the third round pick the Cardinals used on him, noting the Cardinals could’ve selected him later with their large number of selections.

“Adams played at Illinois but will likely kick inside to guard at the next level. He put up an 81.1 run-blocking grade over the past two seasons, sixth among draft-eligible tackles in this class. However, he gave up nine sacks from 518 pass-blocking snaps in 2023 alone and 13 sacks on 992 pass-blocking snaps over the past two seasons.” – PFF