With the NFL draft complete, it is time to give each team grades for their picks. How did the Arizona Cardinals do with their 11 selections?
According to ESPN’s Mel Kiper, they get a B+.
Kiper gets the pick of Kyler Murray first overall. Getting cornerback Byron Murphy in the second round was solid, as Kiper had him as his No. 1 cornerback in the draft.
Two things, though, stand out from what Kiper wrote.
Still, this team is going to struggle in 2019 and Murray will run for his life at times. The Cardinals have holes all across the roster, and there’s a reason they were picking No. 1 in the first place. But Murray is going to give the fan base a jolt, and he’s going to make some plays.
Of course there are holes on the roster. Mostly every roster does. However, referring to Murray having to run for his life, the offensive line, at least in terms of starters, was set after free agency. They weren’t likely going to draft a lineman who would have started over the veterans already in place.
Here is the other thing of note he wrote.
So you can see that the Cardinals are trying to build around Kingsbury and Murray and putting a team together that suits this offense. This is a strong start.
This is absolutely what they were trying to do. The offense was atrocious. They added four skill players and a quarterback. The roster should now have the competition it needs to run and improve.
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