Cardinals First Round Draft Grade
With the 24th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft the Arizona Cardinals selected DJ Humphries from Florida. It fit a need in the Cardinals lineup, but was it the best pick the team could have gotten.
A cheer erupted at the Arizona Cardinals Draft Party at University of Phoenix Stadium, the team had selected an offensive lineman with their 24th overall pick. But many fans like long time Cardinals fan and my dad, John Heimann, were not as pleased.
“The team should have been more aggressive and moved up to pass the Steelers. They could have gotten an edge rusher, to pressure opposing quarterbacks. I would have even given the fourth round pick to move up in the first round.”
John later said, “From what we were given in the spot we were, I am okay with Keim’s pick. He is a good player that will project Carson Palmer.”
John gave the Cardinals first round draft a grade of B, but wants to see more from the team the rest of the draft.
There were fans like season ticket holder, Susanne Phillips, who saw this round as an A.
“I wanted Adrian Peterson, like many other fans, but with Jonathan Cooper’s injuries Humphries can slide into the line great.”
Talking with other fans many agreed with Susanne that the Cardinals had made a good pick in DJ Humphries. Most giving the Cardinals between an A and A- for their pick.
DJ Humphries is a 6’5”, 300 pound lineman who plays with a nasty edge. He started 66.9 percent of the Florida Gators snaps on offense and missed two games due to an injury. Humphries was seen on tape destroying Bud Dupree (a player the Cardinals wanted to draft) in a game last season. He has the talent to be an immediate starter and will be a great base-blocker for the Cardinals.
I agree with the majority of Cardinals’ fans that the team did well with this pick, they filled a gap on their line. With Jared Veldheer, Mike Iupati, and DJ Humphries there will be no one who touches Carson Palmer this season. It was a great pick from where they were sitting, and trade options were not good enough to trade up or down. President Michael Bidwell and General Manager Steve Keim did a great job today, now if only we can continue that into the rest of this draft weekend.
I give the Cardinals a first round grade of A-.