Arizona Cardinals Draft Grades

How did the Cardinals do in the 2021 NFL Draft? We give the Arizona Cardinals draft grades for every pick they made.

Round 1 (No. 16 overall) – Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa:

Big, athletic linebacker, similar to last years pick Isaiah Simmons. Not a huge need for Arizona, but they must adhere to the “best player available” strategy. Can’t say I knock that, but there was a lot of talent available that would help immediately. Grade: B-

Round 2 (49) – Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue

I’m not a fan of Rondale Moore. He was injured a lot in college and had a bad case of the dropsies. The Cardinals are also deep enough at receiver. I get that Moore will probably jump a couple of them, but this doesn’t seem like a great pick to me as Moore wasn’t close to cracking our top 5 WRs. Grade: D

Round 4 (136, from Chiefs through Ravens) Marco Wilson, CB, Florida

An absolutely insane athlete at cornerback, like real freakish numbers. Plus throwing a shoe is awesome in my book. He didn’t play as well as I would like to see, but his physical gifts could develop into something special. Grade: A-

Round 6 (210, from Ravens) – Victor Dimukeje, DE, Duke

Victor was a pretty productive defensive end at Duke. He’s a decent size and has good strength. Honestly, seems like he fell further than he should have so could be a nice steal here. Grade: B+

Round 6 (223, from Vikings; compensatory selection) – Tay Gowan, CB, Central Florida

Tay Gowan played very strongly in college, allowing a measly 26.6 passer rating when thrown at. He’s also 6’1” and ran a 4.44 40 yard dash. I thought Gowan would go two rounds earlier so it was a nice pick. Grade: A

Round 7 (243) – James Wiggins, S, Cincinnati

Wiggins was on my watch list because he tested through the roof in every workout at his pro day. He also was productive in college, making play after play. He was injured in 2019, but that’s really the only downside to him. Grade: A

Round 7 (247, from Bears through Raiders) – Michal Menet, C, Penn State

Three year starter for a big program, Menet has good strength. He’s a little undersized, but that’s why he fits better on the inside of the line. He was expected to go earlier in the draft than this, so again nice value pick. Grade: B+

Analyst- Jonah Anderson

Overall Grade: B