Arizona Cardinals Draft Grade:

Round 1, #7 – Guard Jonathan Cooper, UNC – Grade: A+

-Fantastic pick for the Cardinals, yes tackle was a bigger need, but with the top three guys off the board they still add an impact offensive lineman. Cooper is a plug and play starter and represents a major boost  to their offensive line.

Round 2, #45 – ILB Kevin Minter, LSU – Grade: A

-Minter is a great value  here and teaming him up with Washington, gives the Cards one of the best ILB pairs in the game. Minter had a breakout year this year and proved to be a tackling machine with really good instincts.

Round 3, #69 – CB Tyrann Mathieu, LSU – Grade: D-

-This pick I don’t understand at all. Yes Patrick Peterson is his best friend, but you don’t take guys this high due to their friendship with one of your stars. Mathieu was a guy who should have gone at least 2 rounds later than this and is a risk worth taking for a team that has depth and talent already, not a team that is rebuilding. Moving him to free safety is also probably a mistake.

Round 4, #103 – DE Alex Okafor, Texas – Grade: A

-Great pick for the Cardinals, Okafor could have gone at the top of the 2nd round so landing him here is tremendous value. He will boost the Cards pass rush, and should quickly earn a starting job.

Round 4, #116 – OG Earl Watford, James Madison – Grade: B-

-Maybe a little high for the small school product, but Watford has a ton of upside and potential. He also fills a big need for the Cardinals as they continue to rebuild their offensive line.

Round 5, #140 – RB Stepfan Taylor, Stanford – Grade: A-

-Nice value pick here. Mendenhall was a one year signing and Taylor has a lot of potential. He could end up the Cards starting running back by the end of the year.

Round 6, #174 – WR Ryan Swope, Texas A&M – Grade: A-

-Arizona is already set at their top three receivers, but to have a talent like Swope fall to the 6 round this is a steal. He can help on special teams and out of the slot in some various packages. He adds big time speed to their receiving corps as well.

Round 6, #187 – RB Andre Ellington, Clemson – Grade: A-

-Another tremendous value pick here for the Cardinals, Ellington offers potential as a speed back/return man. He easily could have been a 3rd/4th round selection, and helps boost the Cards rushing attack that was non-existent last year.

Round 7, #219 – TE D.C. Jefferson, Rutgers, Grade: C

-Jefferson is an intriguing TE, but he got injured at the Combine, and will probably need to be stashed on IR this year.

Overall: A

-This draft should have been an A+ as the Cardinals hit big on pretty much every pick, but the Tyrann Mathieu selection. Mathieu was such an over reach for a guy who even if he didn’t have all the off the field red flags would have been a stretch at 69. You are talking about a kid with one year of experience and he basically split it between two positions and was more of a free lancer then anything else. Even in college some receivers clearly were able to get the best of him due to his size limitations, that is only going to increase at the next level. Everything else for the Cardinals was a home run though. They hit big adding two offensive linemen, two running backs, a pass rusher, a slot receiver and a potential starting inside linebacker.