Grade

[john h]

We got a C+ on one of the major rating groups. This was last in our division.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

I think that is fair.

[Kevin Minter + Earl Watford] over Menelik Watson was a questionable move in my opinion.

Drafting Tyrann Matheui can be seen as too much of a risk and reach in round #3.

It is not that the Cardinals "drafted poorly" it is they took some chances.

I would say that potential of this daft could be A+++ at best or could be a C- at worst.

The potential is there for Cooper to be dominant, Minter to be a 3 down SILB, Matheui to be an all-pro, Okafor to be a solid starting pass rusher, and Watford to start at RG in a year or two.

Not to mention Taylor, Ellington, Swope, and Jefferson being good role players.

Yet, on the other hand, Minter could stay a 2 down backer, Matheui could not even make it to camp, Okafor could show why he fell to the 4th round, and Watford's small school success may not translate to the NFL.

After that, all the picks below that may not make the roster.

There is absolutely no way to know how this draft class will fit into the NFL, but the potential is there for this draft class to be one of the Cardinals' best of all time.

 

[MWOOD92]

The only pick I disliked was Earl Watford. Probably should have just stayed put and taken Barrett Jones, Jonathan Franklin, or Phillip Thomas. I'm pretty confident Watford would have been there in the 5th round.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

LOL can you provide a link. I have read 6-7 of these admittedly nonsensical Draft grades and we are universally being praised with mostly A's and no grde lower then a B+. Go read Mark Daltons (Cards Marketing VP) Twitter TL and youll see all the same articles.

C+ lol based on what? I mean I know they are subjective but other then Honey Badger what pick can you rip?

Probably Rotoworld and Baloo the Bear or that 9er fan from Bleacher Report....

 

[Arizona's Finest]

The only pick I disliked was Earl Watford. Probably should have just stayed put and taken Barrett Jones, Jonathan Franklin, or Phillip Thomas. I'm pretty confident Watford would have been there in the 5th round.

Yeah thats the only one I questioned but after researching and seeing the reports from East/West Shrine game I chalked it up to our annual small school pick. And thats really the only knock on Watford.

 

[seesred]

I don't care what others grade our draft. I do care how Kien and coach rate our draft.

GBR
40

 

[Zeno]

Draft grades at this point are useless. At this point we should be grading the 2011 draft not the 2013 draft.

 

[splitsecond]

I love our draft. I also was really impressed with the rest of the drafts in our division. we are the Cardinals, the other teams will all get love first. Aint care.

 

[TJ]

LOL can you provide a link. I have read 6-7 of these admittedly nonsensical Draft grades and we are universally being praised with mostly A's and no grde lower then a B+. Go read Mark Daltons (Cards Marketing VP) Twitter TL and youll see all the same articles.

C+ lol based on what? I mean I know they are subjective but other then Honey Badger what pick can you rip?

Probably Rotoworld and Baloo the Bear or that 9er fan from Bleacher Report....

It was Evan Silva from PFF. Pathetic write up.

 

[TJ]

I cant remember how many A's and B's our drafts have "earned" during the past few seasons from the day-after draft grade articles. Honestly, it is an exercise in futility to grade how this draft stacks up for at least a couple of season. We'll get a slight idea of the guys who can make an impact within the first half of the season.

I like most of the picks, but what I love the most about this draft is the team traded down twice to get more picks. It appeared as if the front office took advantage of media hype because the teams that traded into our spot picked Mantei Te'o and Ryan Nassib respectively. I do wish we could have picked an offensive tackle, but there was more value at other positions when we drafted.

I suspect the players who will be impacting from the start are Cooper and Minter (due to Washington's suspension). Honey Badger may do wonders in special teams and could eventually earn the starting FS position during the year.

Keep an eye on safety Tony Jefferson, our most highly-touted UDFA. I would be stunned if he did not make the team. Dude can flat out tackle. Here's a nice write up from OU's sbnation site:

http://www.crimsonandcreammachine.c...-safety-tony-jefferson-2013-nfl-draft-profile

After placing third on the team in total tackles as a sophomore (2011), Jefferson returned to All-Big 12 status following his junior season in 2012. Choosing to make it his last season in the crimson and cream, Jefferson led Oklahoma in tackles, and was second in the Big 12, with 119 total tackles.

Tony Jefferson will enter the NFL having not yet reached his full potential. Which ever team that decides to select him isn't necessarily getting a project at safety, rather they're getting a player who is a talented defender that is still developing his game.

 

[Jim Otis]

To early for me to grade , but I do like our chances . I'm a beleiver in the slogan " Nothing Ventured -- Nothing Gained " . Until you can look back on it , it's just guessing . The Chargers mortgaged the farm to trade up for Leaf , probably got a high day-after grade . The Broncos -- T.Davis -- the Pats -- T. Brady , probably got no day-after credit for those 6'th rnd. picks . Right now I am onboard with the chances we took , I like it.

 

[BACH]

The only pick I disliked was Earl Watford. Probably should have just stayed put and taken Barrett Jones, Jonathan Franklin, or Phillip Thomas. I'm pretty confident Watford would have been there in the 5th round.

I agree

 

[Southpaw]

Are the draft grades coming from the same pool of prognosticators who did the pre draft mocks? Issue of credibility and expertise comes into play if so.

 

[mojorizen7]

I thought you guys had one of the smartest drafts (and offseason) you've had in years. I love the J.Cooper and R.Swope picks.

Also addressing the RB situation with two picks was a good move. With Mendenhall in there i would think that the RB by committee approach could work out nicely.

Watford was a nice coup in the 4th rd.

Recovering from the Warner retirement was a hurdle, but it shouldn't have been as difficult as it has been IMO.

From the outside looking in perspective, the Graves/Whiz drafts weren't very intelligent. Too much early round emphasis spent on the skill positions rather than fortifying the OLine and pass rush.

*I would add that the C.Palmer aquisition was more intelligent than the Kolb addition simply because Palmer has a proven body of work.

 

[joeshmo]

It was Silva from rotoworld.

He liked all of our picks but gave us a bad grade for players that we didn't pick. We didn't pick a developmental QB or an OT, so he gave us a bad grade for that.

 

[Denny Green Fan]

Kiper gave us a B. Mcshay said we done well

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I thought you guys had one of the smartest drafts (and offseason) you've had in years. I love the J.Cooper and R.Swope picks.

Also addressing the RB situation with two picks was a good move. With Mendenhall in there i would think that the RB by committee approach could work out nicely.

Watford was a nice coup in the 4th rd.

Recovering from the Warner retirement was a hurdle, but it shouldn't have been as difficult as it has been IMO.

From the outside looking in perspective, the Graves/Whiz drafts weren't very intelligent. Too much early round emphasis spent on the skill positions rather than fortifying the OLine and pass rush.

*I would add that the C.Palmer aquisition was more intelligent than the Kolb addition simply because Palmer has a proven body of work.

Well yeah because of the associated costs as well.

 

[Mulli]

I thought you guys had one of the smartest drafts (and offseason) you've had in years. I love the J.Cooper and R.Swope picks.

Also addressing the RB situation with two picks was a good move. With Mendenhall in there i would think that the RB by committee approach could work out nicely.

Watford was a nice coup in the 4th rd.

Recovering from the Warner retirement was a hurdle, but it shouldn't have been as difficult as it has been IMO.

From the outside looking in perspective, the Graves/Whiz drafts weren't very intelligent. Too much early round emphasis spent on the skill positions rather than fortifying the OLine and pass rush.

*I would add that the C.Palmer aquisition was more intelligent than the Kolb addition simply because Palmer has a proven body of work.

How long have the Rams been recovering from Warner leaving?

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Are the draft grades coming from the same pool of prognosticators who did the pre draft mocks? Issue of credibility and expertise comes into play if so.

Exactly. Alot of these guys grade on how THEY thought it should go rather than what actually happened. Alot of these were the same clowns that were mocking Barkley to the Cards at 7 and Geno in the top 5. I'm sure the Jets and Eagles received nice grades because they selected them in later rounds, which, in reality, is actually where they belonged.

I quit reading mocks earlier because I would get mad with all of them, and I mean all of them, having Barkley to Cards at 7. Thankfully the Palmer trade changed that but I knew there was no way they were taking Barkley at 7, even without obtaining Palmer.

 

[Azlen]

Exactly. Alot of these guys grade on how THEY thought it should go rather than what actually happened. Alot of these were the same clowns that were mocking Barkley to the Cards at 7 and Geno in the top 5. I'm sure the Jets and Eagles received nice grades because they selected them in later rounds, which, in reality, is actually where they belonged.

Yep. Grades are basically taking a team's draft list and comparing it to the grader's draft list. Did you pick a guy that they thought was overrated. Grade them down. Did they pick a guy you had labeled as a sleeper. Grade them higher. They talk about BPA but grade you down if you don't pick a position that they had determined was a need. It's silly but plenty of people still do it. Not as silly though as those who have already done a 2014 mock draft. People are hungry for football though and draft grades and mock drafts draw eyeballs, so it isn't going to stop anytime soon no matter how ridiculous it is.

 

[mojorizen7]

How long have the Rams been recovering from Warner leaving?

We had Bulger in place,went 12-4 and won a playoff game actually.

You always ask the tough questions Mulli. I like that. Keep it up.

 

[john h]

LOL can you provide a link. I have read 6-7 of these admittedly nonsensical Draft grades and we are universally being praised with mostly A's and no grde lower then a B+. Go read Mark Daltons (Cards Marketing VP) Twitter TL and youll see all the same articles.

C+ lol based on what? I mean I know they are subjective but other then Honey Badger what pick can you rip?

Probably Rotoworld and Baloo the Bear or that 9er fan from Bleacher Report....

Check out USA Today yesterday or Monday? I saw several C+ and none worse than that. I did not see an A anywhere. I wish I had. I am just reporting what I saw. As Cards fans we are likely to see things through rose colored glasses. I generally do. We have the potential for an A but also the potental for a D. If we refuse to pay Mathieu any guaranteed money that could lower our grade to a C. I cannot believe we would refuse to pay him anything up front. His bad doings were in college not in the NFL and he was a #3 pick. Has there been any #3 pick who did not get "any" guaranteed up front money in the past decade? I do not know but would guess NO.

 

[john h]

Draft grades at this point are useless. At this point we should be grading the 2011 draft not the 2013 draft.

I agree. Draft grades are mostly for people like us to give us something to discuss. They are meaningless. You got to take the test to get a grade and that will happen come game day.