NFL draft grades: Mel Kiper dings Arizona Cardinals in one area
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 NFL draft is over, and now the focus shifts to grades. Grades are reactions to players selected based on expectations, fit and other players on the board.
Visit umafrika.club for more information.
What do people thing of what the Arizona Cardinals did in the draft?
ESPN's Mel Kiper gave them a 'B'.
Kiper, a staunch opponent of drafting running backs in the first round, was just fine with the Cardinals taking a running back third overall.
Love is not a running back in the classical sense. He's a dynamic offensive playmaker who is going to spark an otherwise dull Arizona offense. He's a Reggie Bush clone with incredible vision and burst, and with 4.36 speed, he can go the distance any time he touches the football. Love averaged 6.9 yards per carry last season, he hit nine 20-yard gains (tied for 10th in the FBS) and he forced 60 missed tackles (top 20).
All of that puts him in the first round, but what takes him into another tier and makes him worthy of such a high selection is his ability in the passing game. I'd bet Hackett will get him lined up out wide or in the slot. He will be sprinting out into the flat for quick gains and after-the-catch opportunities. Love has soft hands and runs good routes. Arizona isn't solely going to hand the ball off to him; it is going to target him often in the pass game. The RB room is certainly crowded now, with Allgeier and James Conner, but Love jumps to the top of the list. Heck, the Cardinals could even get two of them on the field, with Love out wide. They have a lot of options and opportunities for creativity, and this pick will absolutely energize the fan base.
He believes second-round pick Chase Bisontis should be the Cardinals' starting right guard, and he had posiyoive things to say about quarterback Carson Beck, selected in the third round. He wasn't sure Beck's abilities push him ahead of Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew, but "he's a worthy shot" and doesn't impact 2027 plans.
But the lack of attention to the defense, which was bad in 2025, is what lowered the grade.
If LaFleur can just get Marvin Harrison Jr. on track, there's some hope for this offense. Even if the real QB answer doesn't come until next year, the surrounding players are starting to fall into place. That said, the defense needs to play some catch-up, too. The Cards didn't make a single defensive pick until Kaleb Proctor at No. 104, and they didn't do much there in free agency, either. That kept Arizona in "B" territory.
The Cardinals' draft left plenty of questions. They entered with clear needs at tackle and at the defensive edge. They didn't darft a tackle until the seventh round and, as they did in free agency, ignored the edge. The players the Cardinals drafted could be solid, but does the roster look any better now? Not really, except at running back.
A 'B' is fair.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL draft grades: Mel Kiper dings Arizona Cardinals in one area