Wrapping up the totally official, scientifically accurate and absolutely definitive ranking of the Cardinals’ first-round Draft picks of the last 15 years.

A Swiss-army knife of a defensive player, Isaiah Simmons entered the 2020 NFL Draft as a versatile prospect. Clemson’s defensive coordinator, Brent Venables, used Simmons all over the field, covering slot receivers, running backs, and tight ends. Venables even used Simmons as an edge rusher to chase down quarterbacks or disguise their blitzes. And he brought that level of adaptability to Arizona. In his second season with the Cardinals, Simmons racked up 70 solo tackles and four forced fumbles. The following season, he put up four sacks and two interceptions. Ranking: C+. Being good at everything can be great if your coach has a wild imagination. Versatility is terrible if your coach wants you to be the best at just one thing. Simmons arrived in the middle of Kliff Kingsbury’s run as Arizona’s head coach. When Jonathan Gannon took over, the team signed a bunch of linebackers in the off-season, and the writing was on the wall.   The Cards declined Simmons’ fifth-year option on his contract, making him a free agent to go to the New York Giants. Simmons hasn’t done much to make the Cardinals regret their decision. He only put up 12 solo tackles last season, despite playing in all 17 games.

2021: Zaven Collins at No. 16

The Cardinals picked the University of Tulsa’s Zaven Collins in 2021. The winner of both the Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik awards, Collins seemed ready to beef up the Cardinals’ defense. After playing just six games in his rookie year, he played a full season in 2022, putting up 100 tackles, two sacks, and an interception (for 30 yards). Ranking: C+. After that year, Collins has just been there. Ahead of his 2022 season, NFL Spin Zone listed him as a “bust.” He may have put up 100 tackles that season, but he put less than that in 2023 and 2024 combined. The team thinks there’s something there, because they signed him to a two-year extension in August 2024. But he hasn’t reached his full potential.

The Cardinals finished 2021 with an 11-6 record. They traded their 2022 first-round pick, No. 23 overall, to the Baltimore Ravens for their third-round pick and wide receiver Marquise Brown.

Arizona used No. 100 to pick Myjai Sanders, who had 17 tackles and three sacks in his rookie year. The team put him on injured reserve ahead of the 2023 season and then released him that October. As for Marquise Brown, the wide receiver played two seasons in Arizona, catching 67 passes for 709 yards and six touchdowns in 2022, 51 catches for 574 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. He’s currently playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.

2023: Paris Johnson Jr. at No. 6

Arizona did a lot of Draft trade-ups and trade-downs to ensure that Paris Johnson Jr. would be a Cardinal. It was a full-circle moment: the team picked Johnson’s father, Paris Sr., in the 1999 Draft (however, Paris Sr. never played an NFL game with the team). Ranking: B-. The Arizona Cardinals site boasts that Paris Jr. was part of “an O-line that helped the Cardinals rush for 2,365 yards and 17 TDs on 471 attempts (5.02 avg.) in 2023.” The team still finished 4-13, so that’s a very “glass half full” way to view things. The team rushed for 2451 yards in 2024, which shows consistency. We’re going to go with “glass half full” here instead of “glass half meh,” and give him this passing grade. 2024: Marvin

Harrison Jr. at No. 4

It had been over ten years since Arizona picked a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL Draft when they selected Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2024. In three years at the Ohio State, Harrison Jr. caught 155 passes for over 2,600 yards and 31 touchdowns. As the son of Super Bowl champion Marvin Harrison, there was a lot of pressure on Marvin Jr. Ranking: B-. I’m going to cut Marvin Jr. some slack. His rookie season was underwhelming, but it wasn’t bad. 62 receptions for 885 yards and 8 touchdowns is fine. It’s not great, but it’s okay. The problem is Malik Nabers, who went to the Giants two positions after Marvin Jr., and his 109 catches for 1,204 yards (and 7 touchdowns). I’m not having a “Leave Marvin Alone!” moment, but I’m saying he’s not the issue at hand. Kyler Murray noted that his and Marvin Jr.’s chemistry could be “better,” which, no kidding. Hopefully, they worked it out on the remix, and Marvin Jr. can beat the bust allegations. 2024: Darius Robinson at No. 27

Arizona secured the No. 27 pick in 2024 from the Houston Texans thanks to the Draft math that got them Paris Johnson. They used the pick to gain Darius Robinson from the University of Missouri, hoping to add some extra firepower to their defense. Ranking: C+. Like Marvin Jr., 2025 is going to be the true rookie season for this defensive end. Not in a technical term—he was injured in an August practice, didn’t play his first game until December—but in a spiritual sense. In his first year as a Cardinal Robinson had one sack and 10 tackles. This season is going to see what Robinson can bring. He seems “positive” about the coming season, and Coach Gannon hopes that Robinson can cause a “disruption” this season. We all hope that. So, there you go. The scientifically accurate, totally not-made up and arbitrary, ultimate grading of the Cardinals’ first-round draft picks of the last fifteen years. On one hand, a lot of disappointment. On the other hand, that’s to be expected of this team. When it doesn’t rain in the desert, we water the plants with our tears. Gives a whole new meaning to the slogan, “Rise up, red sea.”