With the Arizona Cardinals‘ 2026 NFL Draft now in the rearview mirror, it’s time to catch our collective breath and look at each team’s process.. How did they compare to everyone else in their division? I always struggled with giving entire draft classes a firm letter grade, but I do enjoy looking at each pick in the aftermath and reflecting on the evaluation, the fit, and how that player can impact the roster in the years to come. For this exercise, I’m going to take your team’s picks and give them one of three labels:

I am on board with the evaluation, the fit, and the value

One of the three categories above is missing, in my mind, but I see what the team is going for

At least two of those three categories are misaligned with my view of the player based on my personal evaluation. It doesn’t mean I’m right – but I’m not sure I see what the team sees.

After I give a grade to each pick the Arizona Cardinals made, I’ll take a quick glance at the rest of the teams in the division to see how things stack up!

I’m of two minds with this pick for th Arizona Cardinals. On one hand, I love the player and the person the Cardinals brought in. Love was an extremely easy evaluation. He’s dynamic, versatile, tough, instinctive and a team-first guy. I love everything about him. Even taking position value into account, he was my No. 7 player on my board, and the guys ahead of him were not sure things, so I totally get it from that standpoint.

In an ideal world, if I were Monti Ossenfort, I would have tried to trade down. But it takes two to tango, and if he couldn’t get a trade partner, you’re kind of stuck. Do you take the best player or a prospect at a premium position who was less of a sure thing? The Arizona Cardinals have done the latter in recent years with mixed results, so I don’t totally blame them for changing course here. That said, it’s easy to see how this could go wrong when you just look at how things fared for Ashton Jeanty in Las Vegas last fall. Running backs need a healthy environment around them in order to hit their ceiling. All cards on the table though … I love the player. So I won’t hate the pick.

Bisontis finished the cycle as my No. 29 player on my board because I saw a starting guard. He’s athletic, strong and powerful. He has the ability to be a Pro Bowl-level player inside.  As I mentioned on the show on Friday night, he has a connection to Arizona Cardinals OL Coach Justin Frye, so I’m sure there’s a level of comfort that they were getting with him in the building. There are some technique things to work out, but I think Bisontis gives them an upgrade up front. They still have to figure out the tackle spot, however…

I’m of the belief that, until you have an answer at quarterback, you keep taking swings. The Arizona Cardinals do not have a franchise quarterback, so taking one in this spot is not offensive. I saw Beck as more of a high-end backup (think Jimmy Garoppolo or Gardner Minshew) than as a future starter, but even if that is all that he ends up being, that is well worth the 65th pick in a bad draft.

This is the most important position on the team, so to pay that price for a player who COULD be the starter, even if he’s more likely to be the long-term backup, is a fine gamble to take.

We only saw a handful of FCS players get taken in this draft as the impact of the Transfer Portal was felt this weekend. That said, Proctor is a fun player with a high upside. This class was starving for talent on the interior with players that could penetrate into the backfield and impact the quarterback, and he was one of the few who I thought could do that at a high level in the class.

Some time and patience are likely required, but I think he is capable of cracking the rotation and making an impact for the Arizona Cardinals as early as this fall.

Virgil was my No. 144 player on the final board, and the Arizona Cardinals got him at 143, so I’m good with the valuation here. I think he’s a high-floor player in the league who sticks as a fourth or fifth receiver on the depth chart who plays special teams and offers vertical ability downfield. At his best, he could be a starting X receiver who may not produce at a high level but does some of the thankless jobs that allow others to hit their full potential in the box score. I’m good with this pick.

The way I feel about Virgil is how I feel about Sharar. He has the potential to be a special teams stalwart and, maybe, grow into a low-end starter on defense at middle linebacker. I don’t think there’s a super high chance of it happening, but it’s definitely within the range of outcomes. But as a third or fourth linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals who helps in the third phase of the game, I feel good about him in that spot.

Williams was a late addition to the Shrine Bowl, so I got to see him in person this offseason. I thought he was just okay in limited reps working at both tackle spots. As a late pick in a shallow draft, I don’t have high expectations, but I won’t argue with the Arizona Cardinals taking a shot on a premium position player late in the draft to see if he can come in and give you some value as a potential swing tackle in the future.

A lot of the feelings around this draft class will be felt by pre-draft expectations by Arizona Cardinals fans and experts alike. Many wanted or hoped for a trade down to acquire more picks and to fortify the offensive line.

Many began to talk themselves into QB Ty Simpson. With neither of those things happening, instead landing Beck and a running back in the top three selections, I can get how it can be tough to get too excited.

Here’s what I’ll say. If Love turns into a top two or three running back in the league, and Mike LaFleur hits the ground at a full-sprint as a head coach, this offense could be very exciting this fall.

If Nick Rallis’ defense can stay healthy, I think they can be really feisty.

If Carson Beck shows signs of life as a future starter, awesome. If he doesn’t? No harm, no foul. He’ll be the backup by the end of his rookie deal and the Arizona Cardinals will take a quarterback high a year from now.