NFL draft grades: Arizona Cardinals get an A

TL;DR

The Arizona Cardinals received an A grade for their performance in the 2026 NFL Draft, making seven selections including RB Jeremiyah Love and QB Carson Beck. Their Day 3 picks also earned positive evaluations.

Key points

Arizona Cardinals received an A grade for the 2026 NFL Draft
They made seven player selections, five on offense
Key picks included RB Jeremiyah Love and QB Carson Beck
Day 3 picks received an A-minus grade
NFL.com's Chad Reuter praised their draft class

Arizona CardinalsJeremiyah LoveCarson BeckChase Bisontis

NFL draft grades: Arizona Cardinals get an A

The 226 NFL draft is complete, and that means attention is immediately turned to grades and analysis of the players that teams selected over seven rounds.

The Arizona Cardinals made seven player selections, one in each round. Five were on offense, and two were defensive players.

NFL.com's Chad Reuter was a fan of their draft class. He gave them an A for their draft. Their selection of RB Jeremiyah Love in Round 1 got an A. Their Day 2 picks of guard Chase Bisontis and quarterback Carson Beck got an A, while their four Day 3 picks got an A-minus, as they selected DT Caleb Proctor, WR Reegie Virgil, LB Karson Sharar and OT Jayden Williams.

The Cardinals chose the best offensive threat in the draft third overall, with Love's strength, vision and ability to score from anywhere on the field apparently trumping the narrative that running backs aren't worth a top-five pick. Bisontis is a nasty blocker worthy of his early second-round selection. I projected Beck to the Cardinals in the third round of my seven-round mock because, despite his lukewarm film over the past two seasons, he has the physical attributes to be an NFL starter.

I projected Proctor to the Cardinals in my seven-round mock because he's the sort of athletic defensive lineman the team prefers. I liked the Virgil pick because of his consistency and quickness after the catch. Sharar will be a factor on special teams as a rookie. Williams was one of my favorite late-round tackle prospects. He doesn’t have the most size, but he wins with balance and hand usage on the outside. Arizona must spend its rookie free agent funds on pass rush depth.

The belief is that Love will be a star. If he is, that's a good start for the group. If Bisontis can be a solid starter and start as a rookie, then that is even better.

However, the roster doesn't appear to be really any better than it did before the draft, and they didn't do anything to improve their pass rush off the edge, arguably their most critical need, and they passed on several promising pass rushers to select Beck in the third round.