Looking back at the Arizona Cardinals’ 2021 NFL draft class: What do they have to show?
Just three years after selecting seven players in the 2021 NFL draft, the Arizona Cardinals have very little to show for it. Perhaps that’s not too much of a surprise considering they only have one player left on their roster (quarterback Kyler Murray) from their three draft classes combined beforehand.
Entering the 2024 offseason there were only two players remaining from the 2021 draft in Arizona – linebackers Zaven Collins and Victor Dimukeje – and there are absolutely no guarantees that both would remain on the squad by the time the Cardinals get to training camp later this summer.
Arizona had until May 2 to pick up the fifth-year option on Collins, its first-round pick that year, and and the team declined to do so two days before the deadline. Picking up the option would have have cost the Cardinals $13.2 million and by declining, it puts Collins in a similar situation as the linebacker the club drafted in the first round a year earlier, Isaiah Simmons, who eventually was traded to the New York Giants for a seventh-round pick.
How would we grade the 2021 picks now?
Zaven Collins, ILB/OLB, Tulsa
Collins spent the majority of his first two seasons with the Cardinals as an inside linebacker, trusting him to wear the green dot on his helmet and calling out the plays for the rest of the defense. It was hit and miss at best, although it got better over time. Switching him to outside linebacker as a pass-rushing specialist full time in 2023 provided a spark, and he had his moments despite the lack of flashy stats, but he hasn’t come close to being the difference-maker the franchise had hoped.
Grade: C
Rondale Moore, wide receiver, Purdue
After 17-year legend Larry Fitzgerald walked away from the NFL following the 2020 season and none of the three receivers drafted in 2019 making a difference or sticking with the team, the second-round selection of the speedster Moore felt like a win at the time. Moore showed flashes, but never was utilized in an important role. He was traded to the Atlanta Falcons this offseason in a swap for quarterback Desmond Ridder, Arizona’s new backup to Murray.
Grade: C-
Marco Wilson, cornerback, Florida
Wilson looked like a steal as a fourth-round selection, sliding there perhaps due in part to his cleat-throwing incident during a loss against LSU. He delivered for Arizona for a short while. He immediately won a starting spot as an outside corner. But he would end up getting burned repeatedly, fell out of favor, and was unceremoniously dumped last season.
Grade: C-
Victor Dimukeje, outside linebacker, Duke
A sixth-round pick drafted as a hopeful depth piece, the Nigerian-born Dimukeje made the roster as a special teams contributor and parlayed his hard work and effort into an eventual part-time starting role. He started six games in 2023 and responded with 32 tackles, four sacks and eight quarterback hits.
Grade: C
Tay Gowan, cornerback, UCF
Another sixth-round pick, No. 223 overall, the 6-foot-1, 186-pound Gowan looked like he was going to stick and make a play for a spot in at least a rotational basis given his impressive early offseason work. He never got a chance to prove it in the desert, however, as the Cardinals dealt him to the Eagles in October of his rookie season as part of the trade to acquire veteran tight end Zach Ertz.
Grade: C-
James Wiggins, safety, Cincinnati
The good news is Wiggins is still playing professional football, although it’s in the Canadian Football League, where he most recently has been a member of the Edmonton Elks. Wiggins spent most of his rookie season in Arizona on the practice squad but did appear in three games, the only ones he played in the NFL despite brief stops with the Chiefs (2022) and Packers (2023).
Grade: D
Michael Menet, center, Penn State
At the time, this seventh-round pick looked like a pretty good move. The Cardinals had just acquired their new starting center, three-time Pro Bowl veteran Rodney Hudson in a steal of a trade with the Raiders. Following the trade slightly more than a week later of previous starter Mason Cole to the Vikings, a backup option was needed. Menet, however, was released a month into his rookie season.
Grade: D
(Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac)
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals 2021 NFL draft grades: Evaluating picks after three years
