2024 NFL Draft Grades: Arizona Cardinals

The 2024 NFL Draft is now in the rearview mirror, and we have compiled a consensus ranking using NFL draft grades from a variety of sites.

What draft grades have the media given to the Arizona Cardinals? What are they saying about the Cardinals' 2024 draft haul?

NFL.com - Grade: A-

Day 1 grade: A
Day 2 grade: B
Day 3 grade: A

Analysis: The Cardinals did a nice job over the first two days of the draft. They acquired picks via trade, found home-run hitters on offense in Harrison and Benson and added an inside/outside pass-rush threat in Robinson. They landed athletic corners in Melton and Elijah Jones, as well. Adams and Reiman also met needs, though they were picked a bit earlier than I expected.

Taylor-Demerson was my pick for the Cardinals in the fourth round of my seven-round mock draft because of his quickness as a slot defender and tackling ability. Thomas is athletic enough to stand up on the edge for the Cardinals, while Christian Jones and Palmer have the talent to take back-end roster spots and compete for playing time down the road.

ESPN - Grade: A

Top needs entering the draft: Wide receiver, cornerback, edge defender

I really could have listed a few more needs above, including each position on defense. While the Cardinals surprised most everyone by winning four games last season, this is still a team with a below-average roster. They really needed a talent infusion in this draft, and they entered Thursday with 11 picks, tied for the most in the league. So, yes, general manager Monti Ossenfort could have traded down from No. 4 to add even more capital, but I like that he went with both the best prospect available and the team's biggest need. Marvin Harrison Jr. (4) has everything it takes to be a future All-Pro wide receiver.

Darius Robinson (27) dominated against top prospects at the Senior Bowl, which made him rise into the Round 1 discussion. While he didn't always live up to his talent level at Missouri, his potential is tantalizing. I didn't love all of Ossenfort's selections on Day 2, but I can see the strategy behind them, and he made two trades down to add capital. Offensive lineman Isaiah Adams (71) and tight end Tip Reiman (82) were both reaches on my board. Max Melton (43) should play immediately as the slot corner, while Trey Benson (66) has speed to burn. Benson thrived when bouncing runs to the outside then flying by defenders.

Arizona added even more to the secondary with corner Elijah Jones (90), safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (104) and corner Jaden Davis (226), each of whom was a value on my board. Christian Jones (162) is a steal in my rankings, as I have him at No. 98 overall; that's a stellar value pick by Ossenfort.

All in all, Ossenfort used 12 picks and hit all of the Cardinals' top needs, including throwing four defensive backs at a porous pass D. This is a well-rounded and super-talented class.

MORE: Arizona Cardinals 2024 NFL Draft Roundup

Arizona Cardinals Mock Draft Roundup 3.0

Throughout the year and leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we will update our Arizona Cardinals Mock Draft Roundup showing picks for the Arizona Cardinals from several prominent sites and draft analysts.

The following are picks in recent mock drafts for the Arizona Cardinals:

ESPN - Mel Kiper (2/28)

4. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State

If the first three picks break this way, I suspect the Cardinals will rush their selection to the podium. Harrison is an elite wide receiver prospect with all the tools to be a future All-Pro. But unlike in usual drafts, when most trades up into the top five are for quarterbacks, I wonder if teams might try to trade up for Harrison. Would Arizona be able to pass up, for instance, a 2025 first-round pick to move down nine spots with Las Vegas? I'm not saying it would be able to get that haul, but it'd have to consider a deal if it did, right? The looming question is: Are the Cardinals a wide receiver away from contending?

Luckily, this doesn't have to be decided today. Harrison would slot in perfectly as Kyler Murray's No. 1 target, and Arizona also has the Texans' first-round pick at No. 27.

27. Darius Robinson, IDL, Missouri

I moved Robinson into my Big Board after the Senior Bowl in early February. He was one of the best prospects during practices, showing lightning-quick get-off at the snap and power in one-on-one pass-rush drills, all at 286 pounds. And when I went back to study his 2023 tape, you can see his performance was no fluke. Robinson put up 8.5 sacks and 35 total pressures. He's a fit for teams that run a 4-3 base scheme.

Arizona's defense had a rough 2023, ranking 32nd in QBR allowed (57.3) and rushing yards allowed per game (143.2) and 30th in sacks (33). The franchise should devote this second Round 1 pick -- which was acquired from Houston's trade up last April -- to the front seven.

The Athletic - CFB Writers (2/27)

4. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State

Kyler Murray hasn't had a true WR1 since DeAndre Hopkins left, and this is an easy selection for the Cardinals. Harrison is arguably the best player in the draft class and probably would've been the No. 1 receiver in 2023 had he been able to turn pro a year ago. He can do it all, as evidenced by his consecutive seasons with 1,200-plus receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. — Chris Vannini

27. Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State

The Cardinals could use some edge-rushing speed, and Robinson provides that. He battled some injuries in 2023 and only posted four sacks, but he could run a sub.-4.5-second 40-yard dash at the combine and raise some more eyebrows. The physical tools are all there. — Vannini

MORE: Continue reading our 2024 Arizona Cardinals Mock Draft Roundup

2023 NFL Power Rankings: Arizona Cardinals

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 18 roundup for the Arizona Cardinals in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 29

Biggest offseason contract to watch: WR Marquise Brown

The Cardinals picked up Brown's fifth-year option for this season and paid him $13.4 million but did not give him the long-term contract he wanted. However, an injury-riddled 2023 might be what stands in the way of Brown getting the kind of second contract players want. Arizona will have a decision to make when it comes to Brown: Give him a long-term deal to keep him reunited with his good friend, quarterback Kyler Murray, let him walk or give him a short prove-it deal with the hope -- and possible promise -- of a longer deal coming in the future. -- Josh Weinfuss

NFL.com -- Rank: 29

The Cardinals have relished the spoiler role, starting with their Week 3 shocker over the Cowboys and continuing right through to Sunday's bigger stunner against the Eagles. Despite not scoring a touchdown in the first 36 minutes of the game in Philly, the Cards controlled the clock, erasing a 15-point deficit on the road with four TDs in their four second-half possessions. The offense has caught a little bit of fire lately, ringing up its second game in three outings with 200-plus rush yards and crossing the 30-point mark for the first time all season. For that to happen in such a big setting was a huge boost for first-year offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and QB Kyler Murray, who have formed a quality tandem in their initial season together.

Continue reading Arizona Cardinals NFL Power Rankings Roundup

2023 NFL Predictions: NFC West

Before the start of the season, we will post NFL division-by-division predictions for the 2023 NFL regular season and postseason.

Instead of projecting an outright winner and loser in all 272 regular-season games, we've assigned a win probability to each team in every game and totaled them up.

The four NFC West teams are projected to win the fewest games combined in our 2023 full-season projections.

See where the Cardinals stand in our 2023 NFC West Predictions

2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Arizona Cardinals

Our Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.

Below you will find our 2023 fantasy football projections for the Arizona Cardinals.

MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams

QUARTERBACKS

Player	Att.	Comp.	Yards	TD	INT	Rush	Yards	TD	Points
Kyler Murray	312.1	209.1	2184.7	13.42	6.4	28.5	156.8	0.86	149.11
Clayton Tune	171.6	108.1	1192.6	6.69	4.72	18.3	64.1	0.46	74.19
Joshua Dobbs	140.4	83.5	940.7	4.91	4.07	15.3	78	0.31	58.79

Kyler Murray: While we know the minimum number of missed games is four, it's unclear how many games Murray (ACL) will miss to begin the season. Either way, there are incentives for the Cardinals to not rush him back before he's ready. When he does return, the dual-threat quarterback may not run nearly as much as he typically would either, but Murray has finished as fantasy's QB7 (2022), QB4 (2021) and QB3 (2020), respectively, on a per-game basis over the past three seasons if we exclude quarterbacks that started only one game during those seasons.

MORE: 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Will USC's Caleb Williams be Murray's eventual replacement?

Clayton Tune: It will be Tune or Josh Dobbs (key word: "or") under center when the Cardinals face the Commanders in Week 1, but it's also possible that both quarterbacks make starts in 2023. It's also unclear how much time Murray will miss in 2023. In other words, none of Arizona's quarterbacks are worth drafting outside of two-QB leagues.

MORE: Continue reading our 2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals: 2023 NFL Schedule

Below you will find the weekly NFL regular-season schedule for the Arizona Cardinals in 2023.

MORE: 2023 NFL Strength of Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Results
Week 1	Sun., Sep. 10	at Washington Commanders	L 20-16
Week 2	Sun., Sep. 17	vs. New York Giants	L 31-28
Week 3	Sun., Sep. 24	vs. Dallas Cowboys	W 28-16
Week 4	Sun., Oct. 1	at San Francisco 49ers	L 35-16
Week 5	Sun., Oct. 8	vs. Cincinnati Bengals	L 34-20
Week 6	Sun., Oct. 15	at Los Angeles Rams	L 26-9
Week 7	Sun., Oct. 22	at Seattle Seahawks	L 20-10
Week 8	Sun., Oct. 29	vs. Baltimore Ravens	L 31-24
Week 9	Sun., Nov. 5	at Cleveland Browns	L 27-0
Week 10	Sun., Nov. 12	vs. Atlanta Falcons	W 25-23
Week 11	Sun., Nov. 19	at Houston Texans	L 21-16
Week 12	Sun., Nov. 26	vs. Los Angeles Rams	L 37-14
Week 13	Sun., Dec. 3	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 24-10
Week 14		BYE
Week 15	Sun., Dec. 17	vs. San Francisco 49ers	L 45-29
Week 16	Sun., Dec. 24	at Chicago Bears	L 27-16
Week 17	Sun., Dec. 31	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 35-31
Week 18	Sun., Jan. 7	vs. Seattle Seahawks	L 21-20

MORE: Arizona Cardinals historical W-L records - Arizona Cardinals historical head-to-head records

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (SOS)

How easy or difficult is the fantasy football schedule for Arizona Cardinals players?

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule by position:

Arizona Cardinals - 2024 Draft Results

The table below are all of the 2024 NFL Draft picks selected by the Arizona Cardinals.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School
1	4	Marvin Harrison Jr.	WR	Ohio State
1	27	Darius Robinson	DE	Missouri
2	43	Max Melton	CB	Rutgers
3	66	Trey Benson	RB	Florida State
3	71	Isaiah Adams	G	Illinois
3	82	Tip Reiman	TE	Illinois
3	90	Elijah Jones	CB	Boston College
4	104	Dadrion Taylor-Demerson	S	Texas Tech
5	138	Xavier Thomas	EDGE	Clemson
5	162	Christian Jones	OT	Texas
6	191	Tejhaun Palmer	WR	UAB
7	226	Jaden Davis	DB	Miami (FL)

More: 2024 NFL Draft Results - Arizona Cardinals Draft History