With my retrospective about Larry Fitzgerald's memorable 2008 playoff run due to post Monday at azcardinals.com, it's fitting to have Fitz and his Cardinals' draft class come up in an ESPN article about each team's best draft classes ever. It goes back to the first common draft of 1967. The ranking is based on a tool created by profootballreference.com called "approximate value," which is based on games, starts, awards and some meaningful individual stats. Winning games factors in. Obviously, the longer a player stays with the team that drafted him matters, and so would volume.

That's why it would matter that the draft shrunk to seven rounds in 1994. It was 17 rounds in 1967, and 12 from 1977-1993. More chances to find players in a class. The Cardinals' draft class of 2004 made at No. 18. That's no surprise. It was a fabulous class, with Fitzgerald in the first round, Karlos Dansby in the second round and Darnell Dockett in the third round. Defensive end Antonio Smith, who started for the 2008 Super Bowl team, was a fifth-round pick.

(The other three picks from that class -- fourth-round center Alex Stepanovich, sixth-round guard/center Nick Leckey, seventh-round quarterback John Navarre.)

Only one team -- the Ravens, with their 1996 class of Hall of Famers Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis -- has their draft class ranked higher than the Cardinals when their class in the seven-round era. The extra rounds (and no unrestricted free agency before 1992) helped many other teams have their best drafts long ago.

Fitz is still going strong, and Dansby has returned for a third tour with the team (and will build that draft class value again). Dockett is retired, but Smith hasn't shut it down yet, playing for the Texans last season.