Category: Arizona Cardinals

6th-round WR named Cardinals’ potential sleeper pick from 2024 draft

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar believe WR Tejhaun Palmer could be a sleeper pick in the Cardinals’ 2024 draft.

Following the NFL draft each season, the natural thing to do is to try and predict and project the roles of the newly selected players on each team. Who will start? Who will contribute? Who will surprise?

Something fun is to try and figure out who the underrated players from each draft class is. Who are sleeper picks that could outperform their draft status?

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar picked the sleeper of every team’s draft class. For the Arizona Cardinals, he believes it will be receiver Tejhaun Palmer, the Cardinals’ sixth-round pick out of UAB.

The Cardinals came into the 2024 draft with very little to speak of at receiver, and general manager Monti Ossenfort did his level best to solve that issue with the selection of Marvin Harrison Jr. at forth overall. Harrison reminds me of Larry Fitzgerald, another highly-drafted Cardinals receiver, so what’s not to like?

And then, with the 191st overall pick in the sixth round, Ossenfort and his staff pulled off a deep cut with the addition of UAB’s Tejhaun Palmer. Now, Roddy White came out of UAB, so NFL success at the position is not unusual, and Palmer has some serious size/speed stuff to deal with. At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Palmer caught eight passes of 20 or more air yards on 14 targets for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Palmer may still be putting the finer points of his game together, but his tape yells pretty loudly.

“The guy has got upside, he’s got size and he’s got speed,” Cardinals Assistant GM Dave Sears said of Palmer. “We feel like we can develop his routes. The kid’s a tough kid, loves ball — those kinds of things. We definitely feel like there’s some upside we can develop with him. Our coaches, he was down at the East-West Game with them and they saw that first-hand down there too.”

He will have the opportunity to earn playing time. After Harrison, the depth chart includes second-year pro Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, Zach Pascal and Chris Moore. Only Pascal has reached 600 yards in a season in his career and he has had a combined 19 receptions the last two seasons.

Palmer gives them size and speed. We will see if he can make the adjustment to the pros and produce in an offense that was in the top 10 in many metrics down the stretch despite having almost no one producing at receiver,

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Kyler Murray ranked only 15th among quarterbacks

New offseason quarterback rankings by Touchdown Wire put him only 15th, which is kind of fair.

The Arizona Cardinals are excited about the upcoming season, especially because quarterback Kyler Murray is healthy and will have a full offseason of reps.

They believe he can and will play at a high level moving forward.

However, in new offseason quarterback rankings by Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey, that optimism isn’t shared.

Murray is ranked only 15th.

Murray being healthy for a full season throwing to Marvin Harrison Jr.? I don’t know what their record will be, but I know they won’t be boring.

It is understandable. He only played half a season and, for the first five games he was back, his numbers were fairly pedestrian. However, the way he played over the final three games, he probably should be ranked higher.

Over the final three games, he completed 71.7% of his passes for 724 yards, six touchdowns and one interception, which is a passer rating of 108.3.

He led one fourth-quarter comeback and had one game-winning drive. He would have had a second game-winning drive had Matt Prater made a 51-yard field goal in the finale as time expired.

They were a missed kick from finishing the season 4-4 in Murray’s starts when he was surrounding by a roster that lacked talent and had one of the worst defenses in the league.

Basing rankings on all he did last season in the eight starts, I don’t know if there is a quarterback he should move ahead of, and perhaps that is a testament to the play at the position for about half the league.

But with how he finished last year, with a reloaded defense that should not be bottom-of-the-league and with Harrison catching passes from him, he should be a top-10 player this season and, with a little consistency, he can push into the top five.

It would be timely to have him put together a full season of what he have seen from him in the past over stretches and half seasons.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals not projected to get any compensatory picks in 2025

The Cardinals were active in adding free agents this offseason.

The Arizona Cardinals were active in free agency this offseason. Their own free agents were not highly sought after.

As such, according to Over the Cap’s Nick Korte, they will not have any compensatory picks in the 2025 NFL draft.

This is no surprise.

Compensatory picks are awarded based on qualifying free agents signing with other teams and the ones a team signs from other teams.

The Cardinals added defensive linemen Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols, cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, linebacker Mack Wilson, receiver Chris Moore, running back DeeJay Dallas and offensive lineman Evan Brown.

They lost receiver Marquise Brown, linebacker Zeke Turner and defensive lineman Leki Fotu to other teams.

It is beyond the compensatory period in free agency so any players lost or signed now will not matter moving forward.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

What some NFL execs said about the Cardinals’ 2024 draft

The talk around the league is how the Cardinals set themselves up well last year for this year.

The plaudits have been continuous for the Arizona Cardinals since the conclusion of the 2024 NFL draft more than a week ago. Of course, the reality is that should be the case for any team that had two first-round picks with one that was fourth overall, seven of the first 90 players and selected a total of 12 on the three days of the draft.

The real breaking news would have been if the draft had been universally panned despite that many additions to the roster.

Having said that, it was intriguing to hear from people associated with teams about the Cardinals’ draft and not from a long list of media members.

Mike Sando of The Athletic reached out to his contacts, and one of them noted wisely how much of what the Cardinals accomplished was linked to the original 2023 draft-day trade with the Houston Texans.

That deal, which led to some subsequent trades, yielded these selections for the Cardinals:

  • Tackle Paris Johnson Jr. (first round 2023)
  • Edge rusher BJ Ojulari (second round 2023)
  • Cornerback Garrett Williams (third round 2023)
  • Defensive lineman Darius Robinson (first round 2024)
  • Guard Isaiah Adams (third round 2024)
  • Cornerback Elijah Jones (third round 2024)

While some naysayers have said the Cardinals should have stuck and stayed last year and selected the eventual NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, defensive end Will Anderson Jr., one league executive told Sando, “I’d rather have Will Anderson, but you have to know your team, too. They might have wasted four years of Will Anderson while constructing their roster.”

Noting that the Cardinals were the first team since the 1991 Dallas Cowboys to have seven of the first 90 choices, another league executive said, “That is well-played because they need as many NFL-quality players as they can get.”

Finally, one more executive addressed the decision the Cardinals made not to trade the fourth overall choice for more selections and settling for a receiver different than Marvin Harrison Jr.

Saying that would have been risky, he told Sando, “If (Harrison) turns out to be less than what you hoped, no one is going to say you tried to outsmart yourself. If you bust going away from the consensus best player at a position, people will say, ‘You (expletive), everyone knew Marvin Harrison was going to be great.’”

Needless to say, all of us can see that the Cardinals personnel staff, led by general manager Monti Ossenfort, aren’t that!

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

CB Jaden Davis in 7th round was puzzling selection

The Cardinals’ final selection was the lowest-graded one.

The Arizona Cardinals’ final selection of the 2024 NFL draft was taken with the 226th overall pick. They selected cornerback Jaden Davis, who spent four seasons at Oklahoma and one at Miami.

He was selected with the same number pick as Pat Tillman was drafted by the Cardinals in 1998, which is kind of cool. They were able to honor Tillman with two Tillman Scholars announcing the pick.

Now, as for the pick, Davis was a puzzling pick.

He is undersized at 5-foot-9. He has good enough speed (4.44-second 40) and a very good 10-yard split (1.49 seconds), but some of his other athletic tests were below average (7.46 three-cone).

He was Dan Brugler’s No. 60 cornerback. He was an expected rookie free agent.

His strength is versatility. He played outside, inside and even a full game at safety last season.

He had only one career interception, in his freshman year, and he had only 14 ass breakups in five seasons.

It feels like this was the sort of pick they made because they didn’t want to trade away the Tillman pick and they had finished off their board. Davis would have been a priority free agent the Cardinals would have targeted.

He will have a rough time making the roster but might have some upside on special teams later on.

This pick doesn’t deserve much more than a C.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

WR Tejhaun Palmer offers high upside with size, athleticism

The Cardinals’ sixth-round pick is big and fast.

The Arizona Cardinals doubled up at receiver in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft, selecting Tejhaun Palmer with the 191st pick in the draft, a pick they acquired by moving back three spots in third third round after trading away the sixth-round pick they had to acquire a fourth third-round pick.

Palmer has length and athleticism and is an intriguing addition to the wide receiver room, although he will need some polishing.

He is nearly 6-foot-2 and weighs 210 pounds. He ran a 4.45-second 40 at his pro day, which is great for his size.

At UAB, he caught 47 passes for 858 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging over 18 yards per catch.

When you have 12 draft picks, this is exactly the sort of pick you make late in the draft. He has high-end athletic traits and was productive his final year. He played at the Hula Bowl and the Shrine Bowl, catching one pass for 12 yards.

It will be hard for him to make the roster with Marvin Harrison, Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch and Chris Moore all expected to make the roster.

He was a solid selection when the receivers left on the board were not as athletic. USC’s Brenden Rice was on the board.

Overall, a solid pick, earning a ‘B’ from me.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

OL Christian Jones is both athletic and has athletic red flag

Jones’ 40 time is great. His other tests for lateral movement and change of direction are very below average.

The Arizona Cardinals used their second fifth-round pick to select tackle Christian Jones out of Texas.

Jones started 48 games for Texas at tackle over his final four seasons, logging 35 starts at right tackles and 13 at left tackle.

He has good size at 6-foot-5 and weighs 305 pounds. He has long 34 1/2-inch arms. And his 5.04-second 40 time was great.

However, he has some athletic red flags. While he is among the best in straught-line speed among tackles (in the 88th percentile), he is below average in his lateral movement (4.78-second short shuttle, which puts him in the 44th percentile) and change of direction (8.09-second three-cone, in the 18th percentile).

The eight-second three-cone is something to watch. It is often a failure trait. Years ago, when the Cardinals drafted guard Dorian Johnson in the fourth round and he was lauded as a plug-and-play starter, he had a three-cone of 8.39 seconds and didn’t make it out of training camp and was not brought back to the practice squad.

So it is something to watch.

Jones was a late starter to football, playing only two years in high school after years of soccer, so he has some room to grow and improve, but he will turn 24 in May after six years in college.

He will have a tough road to make the roster. There are traits to like and he is a perfect backup swing tackle if the athletic red flag isn’t an issue.

The eight-second three-cone and below-average short shuttle, combined with his age, makes him a questionable pick, even late in the fifth round.

The Cardinals get a C for that pick.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

EDGE Xavier Thomas drafted in Round 5 was a ‘finally’ moment for Cardinals

Thomas might have been the best they could have gotten in Round 5, but it is hard to be excited about an old prospect who doesn’t get sacks.

The Arizona Cardinals had exactly one sack over the final six games of the season. That wasn’t even a real sack. Quarterback Justin Field ran out of bound for no gain after he left the pocket. Dennis Gardeck happened to be the closest player.

They did not tackle a quarterback for a loss over six games! As that appeared to be one of the team’s most critical needs in the offseason, they didn’t address it until the fifth round of the NFL draft, when they selected Xavier Thomas out of Clemson.

No free agents, no first-round pick, no Day 2 pick. The fifth round.

Thomas, who was one of the top recruits in the country in 2018, did not have the career at Clemson most would have hoped. He caught COVID and ballooned to 300 pounds, and he dealt with mental health issues.

He bounced back, though. He leaned back down to 244 pounds for his 6-foot-2 frame.

However, if you are looking for sack production, you won’t find much. He had a total of 17.5 over his career — six seasons. He never had more than 4.5 sacks in a season. However, he did have 43 total pressures in his final season, per PFF.

He will turn 25 years old in December of his rookie season.

But he does have high-end athleticism. He posted a 4.62-second 40 and had a 32.5-inch vertical leap and 120-inch broad jump.

He has a quick get-off at the line of scrimmage.

He was projected to be drafted in the fifth or sixth round, so he was picked more or less where he should have been.

However, expecting much from him in the pros is like expecting a big year from Victor Dimukeje, who had a career-high four sacks in 2023, his third NFL season, after no sacks for two years.

He isn’t a bad pick for the fifth round, but it feels irresponsible to have waited that long to address their need on the edge.

Between his age, lack of sack production in college and waiting so long to get an edge defender, I don’t give the pick more than a B-minus.

He might have been the best edge guy to get there, but it is hard to get excited for an old prospect who doesn’t get sacks.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson another solid pick for Cardinals in 2024 draft

Taylor-Demerson is another player who could play significantly as a rookie.

After the Arizona Cardinals had seven total picks on Days 1 and 2 of the 2024 NFL draft, they entered Day 3 with five selections. Their first of the day, the 104th pick in the draft and their one selection in the fourth round, was Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson.

Also known as “Rabbit,” Taylor-Demerson should excite fans.

He is built like Budda Baker at 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds. He is super athletic (4.41-second 40, 38-inch vertical, 123-inch broad jump).

And unlike Baker coming out of college, Taylor-Demerson is a ballhawk. Over his final three seasons in Lubbock, he had 10 interceptions and 33 pass breakups.

The Cardinals view him as a true deep safety, although many feel he can also plug in right away in nickel, a skill set very similar to those of Arizona’s Jalen Thompson.

Selected 104th overall, he was in the top 50 players for Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar. He was No. 132 for NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.

What is great about the pick is that he is exactly what the Cardinals need. They play a decent amount of three-safety groups on defense in dime. And if Thompson plays in the slot, they need a third safety.

Rabbit has much more upside than Andre Chachere. And with Budda Baker under contract only for one more season, the idea of a Day 3 safety who could develop and take Baker’s place in 2025 of they don’t plan on bringing him back is perfect.

He is a great value pick for some.

And while there were other players at different positions they could have picked, anyone you might have considered were at positions the Cardinals had already addressed before Day 3.

So Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in Round 4 deserves an A grade.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

TE Tip Reiman was a surprising pick in Round 3 who fits Cardinals perfectly

The Cardinals selected Tip Reiman No. 82 overall. What do we think of the pick?

The Arizona Cardinals acquired a fourth third-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft when they traded back in the second round, swapping picks with the Atlanta Falcons and sending them a sixth-round pick to pick up the 79th pick in the draft.

They then got a sixth-round pick back when they moved back to the 82nd pick.

With the 82nd pick, they selected tight end Tip Reiman out of Illinois, who was both a surprising pick and a player who fills perfectly a need they have on offense.

Reiman is a massive human being at 6-foot-5 and 271 pounds. He was a physical blocking tight end. He only caught a high of 19 passes in a season but tested athletically very well.

He is exactly what the Cardinals need in the tight end room. They have athletic pass catchers in Trey McBride and Elijah Higgins. Reiman, while athletic, is a monster blocker with pass-catching upside.

However, it did feel like a reach. Yes, he is athletic but when do tight ends with no more than 19 catches get drafted before Day 3?

General manager Monti Ossenfort said they followed their draft board so they clearly liked him. Perhaps he would have already come off the board before they picked in the third round.

Most mock drafts had him in the fifth round or later, so one might say that he was picked as a reach.

In the end, he is an A for fit and talent but a C for value.

Overall, the Cardinals get a ‘B’ for this pick.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.