Draft Grade

[Harry]

I’ve got a few questions about an overall response to the Cards’ picks. I guess a B is about right. If you include what they got for traded picks I’d up it to an A. Both early picks will contribute and they both have a ceiling potential that could make them exceptional values. Most of the rest are long shots to contribute except for Wiggins who looks like a steal if he can stay healthy. He’s talented enough to make sure this isn’t a repeat of 2020 where the Cards run out of safeties.

 

[az jam]

I give them an A. However, I give them an A every year then reality sets in during the season and I get depressed.

 

[Proximo]

Overall I really did not like this draft. I feel like it's a C-. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[football karma]

i guess this is a good place to put this -- interesting that a 50% hit rate on your 1st rounders puts you in the bottom third, but 75% puts you in the top third

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[football karma]

also: a good QB and a good three year stretch can make an average GM look pretty good:

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[Stout]

Overall I really did not like this draft. I feel like it's a C-. Hope I'm wrong.

My exact grade. I like the later-round picks, but rounds 1-2, where you have to hit, really let me down. I know, it's shocking to learn that, because I haven't put my opinion on it out there much

 

[football karma]

Im ok with Collins. I get the team's rationale for taking him and like the potential is creates if he is the player he is projected to be.

my alternatives would have been Toney, WR or even Bateman, WR. Newsome and Farley's injury history concerned me at #16. that said, the players i noted leave me with the same "well, i guess that works" kinda feeling at #16. The way the first 15 went didnt go well for the Cards.


had they gone Bateman or Toney in round 1, looking at Ojulari or Freiermuth in round 2. After Samuel went, it feld like the CB tiers dropped off significantly.

 

[mjb21aztd]

B for me little iffy but hopeful on collins I wanted newsome.... but i like the gators corner

Really love the moore pick maybe he can become a light deshawn jackson or hill for us even a semi steve smith sr be nice

Looking forward to watching all draft prospects in camp preseason!!

Camp preseason is happening this season right? Only asking cause covid crap

 

[Lefty]

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[mjb21aztd]

I give them an A. However, I give them an A every year then reality sets in during the season and I get depressed.

U must be on a lot of anti depressers lol jkin

Yea I feel u I'm hopeful on every class though i know shouldn't get hopes up..... only few work with kiem history

 

[Chris_Sanders]

B seems right because it has potential but not much guarantee

 

[Chopper0080]

B seems right because it has potential but not much guarantee

I agree with this. Seemed like there was a plan and it wasn't a terrible one. Found guys who fit and can contribute early in rounds 1 and 2. Traded our 3rd for a very good C. Added multiple DBs with athleticism to our DB room. Got a pass rusher who plays a similar style to our starter in Golden. Got a C from a good program.

 

[Proximo]

I really don't like factoring in traded picks into the draft.

We already give Keim credit for his trades, he doesn't deserve to get it twice.

 

[eastcoastDave]

I’m hesitant to give a grade because of such disastrous picks in the past. But if I absolutely had to give a grade, it’d be C. I’m hoping the 1st and 2nd round picks become All Pro and that the late round guys become serviceable membership of the squad. But I’ve because I’ve been so deeply disappointed in the past, my grade-o-meter can’t rise but so far.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I agree with this. Seemed like there was a plan and it wasn't a terrible one. Found guys who fit and can contribute early in rounds 1 and 2. Traded our 3rd for a very good C. Added multiple DBs with athleticism to our DB room. Got a pass rusher who plays a similar style to our starter in Golden. Got a C from a good program.

Pretty much mirrors my thoughts.

1st Round, all the prospects I hoped for above Collins were gone. AVT, Slater (!?!?), one of the top receivers, or one of the top corners. After that, the rest of the 1st round prospects had significant issues. Zaven Collins FITS what Keim was looking for, a ILB who can stack and beat blocks, command the defense, and is real good in zone coverage. Collins is a very safe pick and should be at least a real good role player early on. He has Pro Bowl/All Pro potential down the road.

2nd Round, again, all of the guys I would target there were gone. Rondale Moore should fit another specific niche in this offense, bubble screens, jet sweeps, run mesh plays with Kirk across the middle. He should produce a good amount of chunk plays. Others wanted Marshall, but I counter that if Green is marginally good, Marshall wouldn't play. Another great thing about Rondale is that he is real young, barely 20 years old.

Both of the top two picks are tough, love football, and smart. Both are FREAK athletes.

Marco Wilson has warts, but pretty much any freak athlete from a big school available on day three will. At least we know he won't get beaten because he is a try hard, but minus athlete.

Dimukeje is similar to Golden, and sometimes those guys work out. Supposedly he is intense and loves football. I wanted an edge guy, but more of a developmental guy. He doesn't move the needle much, but you never know.

Tay Gowan is a nice prospect who has some good tape. For me, I like corners that actually make plays on the ball and Gowan looks for the football. Good athlete, long, a bit stiff, but could play zone in the NFL.

Wiggins is probably the wildcard of this draft. Real good athlete and a bit of a ballhawk. With Jalen Thompson's injury history, the Cardinals needed to look for a safety with starting potential, and Wiggins has starting upside.

Centers are tricky. If you look at the success rate of drafted centers over the past decade, it is fairly low even for picks in round 1-3. Occasionally tough guys with minus athleticism end up being really good IOL, especially at center. At the end of the draft, it's not a bad thing to find guys that can compete with backups and possibly make the roster. Gaillard got a shot last year and showed he wasn't fully ready, and Menet is capable of beating him out.

I give the grade a B based on adding 2 guys who should impact the 2021 season (Collins and Moore) and adding young depth in the secondary.

 

[JeffGollin]

I agree with this. Seemed like there was a plan and it wasn't a terrible one. Found guys who fit and can contribute early in rounds 1 and 2. Traded our 3rd for a very good C. Added multiple DBs with athleticism to our DB room. Got a pass rusher who plays a similar style to our starter in Golden. Got a C from a good program.

Pattern emerges - with few exceptions just about every prospect has at least one elite measurable - a 4.39 or better forty, a 42.5 VJ or a sick press or 3-cone.

If a player fails to make the squad, it won't be due to subpar athletic talent.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

I can't justify anything above a C when being objective.

R1 - just seems like there may have been better players available going by who so many of the pundits were excited about, plus apparent we had much bigger positional needs. Pundits aren't what's important though, history will decide the reality.

R2 - seems like we are putting a huge expectation of our offense being greatly improved with the addition of a very small often injured WR. This seems just like another Keim visionalization of a draft outcome which would rarely come to fruition. Huge injury Red Flag!

Later round picks - the usual suspects, filling needs way beyond their capabilities, lots of blue sky totally dependent on our 'excellent' coaching.

Just can't see anything other than a strained grade of C. A very Cardinal-mediocre draft.

 

[cardsfanmd]

All the Keim haters can say what they want but the draft is already a success because D-Hop and Hudson are All Pros. I have very little doubt Collins will be
Pro Bowl caliber. The possibility of this draft being one of the teams’ all-time bests hinges on whether Moore can stay healthy and return to his 2018 form.

 

[Stout]

All the Keim haters can say what they want but the draft is already a success because D-Hop and Hudson are All Pros. I have very little doubt Collins will be
Pro Bowl caliber. The possibility of this draft being one of the teams’ all-time bests hinges on whether Moore can stay healthy and return to his 2018 form.

Uh, hello Kool Aid man? D-Hop and Hudson weren't draft picks, they were traded for using draft picks. They don't make a DRAFT successful. Keim can't say "look at my awesome draft pick Hudson!" He can say "look at my awesome trade for Hudson!" instead, but, again, not the draft.

 

[QuebecCard]

A for effort.

But

B is the grade.

 

[blindseyed]

B seems right because it has potential but not much guarantee

Pretty much how I feel, B or even C since that's average and that's how I feel at the moment, nothing jumped at me and made me go "wow I can't believe we got him" but then again there really wasn't any players in this draft I would've said that about lol

 

[gimpy]

Pretty much how I feel, B or even C since that's average and that's how I feel at the moment, nothing jumped at me and made me go "wow I can't believe we got him" but then again there really wasn't any players in this draft I would've said that about lol

Then, nobody gets an A?

 

[Chopper0080]

Uh, hello Kool Aid man? D-Hop and Hudson weren't draft picks, they were traded for using draft picks. They don't make a DRAFT successful. Keim can't say "look at my awesome draft pick Hudson!" He can say "look at my awesome trade for Hudson!" instead, but, again, not the draft.

I think just like pick value impacts draft grades, so should picks used for trades. A draft grade is essentially an evaluation of how a team used it's picks. If they used them to acquire a veteran player, that counts IMO.

For me when evaluating draft classes, it is about where a player was taken, do they fit the scheme, and does it make sense from a team building perspective. That is why this class is a B.

Collins - Fits the scheme, was drafted in the approx range and fits the build of super-athletic LBs who are physical and can run and cover. That is a B for me.

RMoore - Fits the scheme, was drafted in the approx range and fits the scheme. B

Same goes for the rest of the players we drafted. None seemed like huge reaches or steals which is what you want. All fit our roster and scheme so no real wasted picks outside of potentially Menet. How the players progress is up to additional factors that most people can't really know.

 

[cardsunsfan]

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I really like this.. I would like to see the new draft grades 3 years in the future just like this and see which group was the most accurate and all of the teams reranked.

 

[Stout]

I think just like pick value impacts draft grades, so should picks used for trades. A draft grade is essentially an evaluation of how a team used it's picks. If they used them to acquire a veteran player, that counts IMO.

For me when evaluating draft classes, it is about where a player was taken, do they fit the scheme, and does it make sense from a team building perspective. That is why this class is a B.

Collins - Fits the scheme, was drafted in the approx range and fits the build of super-athletic LBs who are physical and can run and cover. That is a B for me.

RMoore - Fits the scheme, was drafted in the approx range and fits the scheme. B

Same goes for the rest of the players we drafted. None seemed like huge reaches or steals which is what you want. All fit our roster and scheme so no real wasted picks outside of potentially Menet. How the players progress is up to additional factors that most people can't really know.

Yeah, I get where you're coming from. I don't agree with your grades and whatnot, but that's a matter of opinion. I want to feel super stoked about them, I do. And, as usual as a darksider, I very much hope I'm wrong.

Either way, Keim did good work bringing those two players in. What gets me is people trying to overinflate what we did in the draft by boasting Keim's draft is better because of non-drafted players. Yeah, no. Folks can't make him out to be a better drafter like that.