The Arizona Cardinals have had some pretty good reviews for the draft class they put together last weekend. They used their first-round pick to acquire receiver Hollywood Brown and then made eight other selections, including three pass rushers, two offensive linemen, a running back and a dynamic tight end.
Their grades have mostly been consistently a B for their work in the draft.
However, USA TODAY’s Nate Davis is not a fan. He gave the Cardinals one of the worst marks in the league in his draft grades.
He gave the Cardinals a D.
Mackey Award-winning TE Trey McBride (Round 2) is a sweet player, but are the Cards suddenly going base double-tight after re-signing Zach Ertz for three more years? But far more head-scratching was sacrificing their first-round pick to get “Hollywood” Brown, a teammate of QB Kyler Murray at Oklahoma, both former Sooners heading into their fourth seasons. Brown has scary speed and maybe didn’t get to showcase it enough on a Baltimore offense that wanted to run the ball. But hard to believe that GM Steve Keim didn’t severely overpay – especially since he’ll also presumably be on the hook for extensions for Brown and Murray any minute.
The McBride pick was odd, but not when you consider that Maxx Williams might not be ready to start the season. And now, with the suspension of receiver DeAndre Hopkins, having as many pass-catching weapons as possible is going to be needed.
We can expect to see plenty of both Ertz and McBride on the field.
How was the Brown trade overpaying? He is a perfect fit in the Arizona offense, had a 1,000-yard season in a bad offense for receivers and is cost-controlled for two seasons.
The Philadelphia Eagles had to give up two picks for A.J. Brown and then ink him to a four-year, $100 million deal.
Brown gives the Cardinals what they need in their offense and “is just scratching the surface.”
They added a necessary pass rusher in the third round and depth late in the draft in the sixth and seventh rounds.
This was not a super exciting draft like the New York Jets had, since they made three selections in the first round, but it was solid, considering the picks they made.
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