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Arizona Cardinals 2022 NFL Draft Grades: The Best Player Available

By Andrew Fischer

Sep 25, 2021; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Colorado State Rams tight end Trey McBride (85) runs with the ball after a catch against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2021; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Colorado State Rams tight end Trey McBride (85) runs with the ball after a catch against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kyler Murray quarterback of the Cardinals with his head coach Kliff Kingsbury in the first half of the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 11, 2020.New York Jets At Metlife Stadium On October 11 2020
Kyler Murray quarterback of the Cardinals with his head coach Kliff Kingsbury in the first half of the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 11, 2020.New York Jets At Metlife Stadium On October 11 2020 /

This hasn’t been a good offseason for the Arizona Cardinals. First, their franchise quarterback Kyler Murray removed all references to the team from his social media accounts. Then he restored them. Then people within the Cardinals’ organization stated that Murray was “self-centered, immature, and someone who points fingers.” Murray was apparently angry that he was made the “scapegoat” in Arizona’s 34-11 blowout playoff loss to the Rams. He was less the scapegoat, and more the reason that the team lost. If all that wasn’t enough, Murray’s agent released a strongly worded statement all but demanding a new contract in line with some of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

It seems that Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury want to make it work with Murray, who was the number one overall pick in the 2019 draft. What’s the best way to endear yourself to a quarterback? Get him some weapons and provide him with some blocking. The Cardinals addressed both their offensive line and the skill positions behind Murray in the 2022 NFL Draft, and even traded for one of his college teammates.

Arizona Cardinals 2022 NFL Draft Grades

But things just got more complicated for the Arizona Cardinals. It was just announced that star wide receiver Deandre Hopkins will be suspended for the first six games of next year’s NFL season due to a violation of the league’s performance enhancing drug policy. It’s not completely clear what the Arizona Cardinals knew about Hopkins’ positive drug test and when, but it would seem that they traded their first-round pick for a wide receiver in last Thursday’s draft to bolster depth at the position.

It’s quite possible that Arizona had prior knowledge that Hopkins would be suspended. There were some issues with that deal and some of the Cardinals’ draft picks, and I’ll cover those and more in this article. Here are the Arizona Cardinals’ final grades for the 2022 NFL Draft.

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