With the 2019 NFL draft a month away and having seen the play of the 2018 draft class, ESPN’s Mel Kiper regraded each team’s rookie class. He looked back at the original grade he gave the teams and a new grade after how they did.
For the Cardinals, his grade didn’t change. He gave them a C+ after the draft and they keep a C+ after the season.
He called grading the Cardinals rookie “a tough one.” They were the worst team in the league but got contributions from their draft picks, undrafted rookies and even rookies they signed along the way.
Kiper wonders about Josh Rosen and also believes some of the same issues Rosen had will be the same for Kyler Murray because of the offensive line.
Ultimately, his grade came down to this:
And so the Cardinals got a lot of snaps out of rookies, but I wouldn’t count all of them as productive snaps. And the Rosen conundrum makes me drop them a little further.
The rookie class was really the only bright spot for the team. Rosen showed some promise. Christian Kirk looked good. Mason Cole actually played and handled himself well. Korey Cunningham put himself in position to be in the mix for a starting job now or in 2020. The team really likes Chase Edmonds. Undrafted rookie Zeke Turner was a special teams stud and fellow undrafted rookie Dennis Gardeck made plays.
Is the grade fair? Certainly, especially if there are questions about Rosen.
What grade do you think the Cardinals’ 2018 rookie class should get?
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