Arizona Cardinals: 2026 NFL Draft Grades

With some time to sit on the results from the 2026 NFL draft, it’s easier to look back on the event with true focus. Some teams found great value early with others finding it late. Meanwhile, some teams pushed the envelope to target players they felt were important to add to their team. For the Arizona Cardinals, the 2026 NFL draft saw them bring in a number of players with high upside through questionable decision-making. Will it pan out for them? We dive into the full grades below.

Arizona Cardinals: 2026 NFL Draft – Class Overview

The Arizona Cardinals attacked the offensive side of the ball in the 2026 NFL draft. The selections of Jeremiyah Love and Chase Bisontis were strong additions.

Love can be the identity of the offense as early as day one, with Bisontis fitting the typical LaFleur scheme like a glove. Beyond that, Arizona prioritized depth at quarterback, wide receiver, and offensive tackle.

On the defensive side, they took a high upside swing on Kaleb Proctor within their front seven and added a special teams contributor who can also be position depth at off-ball linebacker in Karson Sharar.

Draft Selections

Round 1 | Pick 3 Overall

Jeremiyah Love | Running Back | Notre Dame

Of all the teams selecting in the top five, Arizona felt like the landing spot that made the least amount of sense for Love from a roster-building standpoint. The player himself is an elite talent and should thrive in a creative offensive system under Mike LaFleur. However, the long-term roster timing raises questions. There is no doubt about the player’s ability, but the fit relative to team needs and overall direction creates legitimate debate.

Round 2 | Pick 34 Overall

Chase Bisontis | Guard | Texas A&M

This is good value on an athletic interior offensive lineman who fits the schematic direction Arizona is building toward. Bisontis brings movement skills, positional versatility, and the type of functional athleticism that pairs well with a zone-heavy or hybrid run scheme. His hands are heavy and his footwork is clean making him a clear early starter for this team with NFL traits to become a plus level starter at the position.

Round 3 | Pick 65 Overall

Carson Beck | Quarterback | Miami

I fear this selection is a greater reflection of the Cardinals urgency at the quarterback position rather than long-term draft planning. Beck becomes a necessary investment given the instability behind center, especially with Jacoby Brissett’s contract situation still unresolved.

Beck is serviceable, but this is early for a player of his caliber driven by their need at the position rather than value. He is a quality backup quarterback at the NFL level who can steady a ship as the signal caller, but does so with a defined ceiling.

Round 4 | Pick 104 Overall

Kaleb Proctor | Interior Defensive Line | Southeastern Louisiana

Proctor is a developmental interior defensive lineman who flashes disruptive traits as a gap penetrator. His standout performance against LSU showed legitimate upside as a prospect. However, the consistency and technique still require refinement. The fourth round is the appropriate time to take swings on high-upside prospects with high variance in their range of outcomes. Proctor profiles as a long-term project with rotational upside and the developmental traits for more in time.

Round 5 | Pick 143 Overall

Reggie Virgil | Wide Receiver | Texas Tech

This feels slightly early for the player, especially given Arizona’s existing receiver and pass-catching depth. The Cardinals already feature a strong collection of weapons, including Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne, Trey McBride, and Jeremiyah Love. Virgil adds depth, but that’s all I really ever see from this player which makes the investment feel like more of a luxury than necessity.

Round 6 | Pick 183 Overall

Karson Sharar | Linebacker | Iowa

A depth linebacker whose primary value will come through special teams. Sharar led Iowa in tackles last year, but his projection is as a depth off-ball linebacker with his primary impact taking place on special teams. Overall, a solid depth piece with a defined but limited ceiling.

Round 7 | Pick 217 Overall

Jayden Williams | Offensive Tackle | Mississippi

Williams offers developmental tackle flexibility with experience on both the left and right side. However, he settled at right tackle during his final season at Ole Miss. He projects as depth at the next level with emergency swing capability, but a starting trajectory would fall in the outside chance category.

Best Value Pick: Chase Bisontis | Guard | Texas A&M

To me, Bisontis is the biggest value. Love is an elite prospect and will be a difference maker for this team. However, with value considered, Bisontis edges him out just slightly.

Bisontis is a player that you could justify adding in the late first to the right team. Though he was the second pick on the second round, that still offers value. He’s also a perfect fit for Arizona’s offense moving forward.

Biggest Question Mark: The Quarterback Room

The quarterback room is the obvious question mark for this franchise. After moving on from Kyler Murray I can’t say it was expected that this team would find their franchise quarterback in this class. However, a room of Jacoby Brissett and Carson Beck is hard to get fired up about. Especially considering that Brissett isn’t happy with his contract and wants it reworked heading into next year. It begs the question, will Brissett even be on the team?

A wild card scenario for this team is the new developments regarding Brendan Sorsby. Sorsby may be deemed ineligible for the upcoming college football season after news broke about him sports betting on Indiana games during his time with the program. He was slated to play at Texas Tech, but if deemed ineligible, could enter the NFL supplemental draft and be an option for Arizona.

Early in the process before deciding to return to college, I had a fringe top-50 grade on Sorsby. He could be worthy of a third round bid in the supplemental draft.

Final Thoughts

Arizona added impact starters with their first two selections and then seemingly prioritized depth thereafter. For a team in need of a turnaround, I can’t say I fully agreed with all of their decisions. However, I did appreciate their strategic swing at a high upside prospect at the top of round four in Kaleb Proctor.

I fear this class may turn into a two-starter class with Jeremiyah Love and Chase Bisontis. I view Carson Beck and Kaleb Proctor becoming contributors to the team; Beck becoming Arizona’s long term preferred back-up and Kaleb Proctor becoming a rotational gap shooting interior presence. However, the rest of their picks seemed to be more of depth or special teams contributors. Overall a solid, standard class, but get buoyed by a blue chip prospect in Love.

Final Draft Grade: B-