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Pro Football Focus Loved Cardinals' Draft

Analytics site believes team got great value in middle rounds

CB Byron Murphy, shown here talking with the media on Saturday, was the sixth-rated prospect by Pro Football Focus heading into the draft
CB Byron Murphy, shown here talking with the media on Saturday, was the sixth-rated prospect by Pro Football Focus heading into the draft

Pro Football Focus didn't start grading college football players until 2014, so it's too early to know how accurate they will be in forecasting NFL success.

However, the analytics site did earn a feather in its cap a year ago, ranking Baker Mayfield as its No. 1 prospect early on while most evaluators still had him as a late-first or early-second round pick. The Browns ended up taking Mayfield with the top choice and he looked like a future star as a rookie, giving credence to PFF's methods.

The Cardinals would love for them to be accurate this season, because their picks were in lockstep with the site's rankings. Kyler Murray was the top-rated player by Pro Football Focus, and the team has pushed in all its chips on him just a year after spending a first-round pick on quarterback Josh Rosen.

PFF also liked the second-round choices of cornerback Byron Murphy and Andy Isabella. Murphy, a cornerback from the University of Washington, was the sixth-rated player by PFF, while Isabella, a wideout from UMass, came in at No. 30.

The Cardinals also got great value with their third- and fourth-round selections, according to PFF's rankings, as Boston College defensive end Zach Allen and wide receiver Hakeem Butler were both rated in the top-42 on PFF's board.

"Arizona seemingly drafted with Pro Football Focus' 2019 NFL Draft Guide in hand," the site wrote in its draft recap, which gave the Cardinals a grade of ‘Excellent’ for their picks.

Table inside Article
Player PFF Ranking Draft Spot
QB Kyler Murray 1 1
CB Byron Murphy 6 33
WR Andy Isabella 30 62
DE Zach Allen 40 65
WR Hakeem Butler 42 103
S Deionte Thompson 66 139
WR KeeSean Johnson 173 174
C Lamont Gaillard 106 179
T Joshua Miles Unranked 248
DE Michael Dogbe 133 249
TE Caleb Wilson 121 254
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