DAVE BURNS

One last look in the NFL Draft rearview mirror

May 1, 2013, 12:14 AM | Updated: 12:38 am

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Saw this nugget from a man for whom if these nuggets were made of actual gold he’d be living like Billy Ray and Lewis from Trading Places…Darren Urban from azcardinals.com.

The website footballoutsiders.com gathered together the most relevant draft grades for each team from the more respected names in the business, added them up and produced a cleverly named Grade Point Average for each team.

Guess who finished in the top five? The Cardinals, of course.

Number five to be exact. Of the Cardinals, the site wrote this:

5. Arizona Cardinals

GPA: 3.38


Highest Grade: A (Prisco, Cole)


Lowest Grade: C+ (Silva)


Comments: The Cardinals and Vikings tied for fifth and had the same lowest grade, but Arizona had a lower standard deviation so we’ll list them fifth here. The Cardinals addressed one of their major needs with their first pick and continued to add contributors throughout the draft, even if some (Mathieu) come with notable asterisks. Prisco and Cole were both very high on fourth-round pick Alex Okafor, who has the potential to be a huge steal. Silva praised most decisions but thought more should’ve been done to address the offensive line and the long-term need at quarterback.

Look, I haven’t been too shy about my feelings regarding the Tyrann Mathieu pick. It felt like an unnecessarily large risk, one that could cast Patrick Peterson in the role of babysitter as much as a mentor.

The fact that Tony Dungy — the man who elevated mentoring to an art form — said on The Dan Patrick Show that he would not have drafted him didn’t make me feel any better.

“I wouldn’t have. Not after I know everything LSU did to help him, it’s going to be a long road,” Dungy said.

But it’s done. It’s over. And now it’s up to Mathieu to make it work; earn some trust and some money.

It certainly won’t detract from what I feel was a shrewdly executed draft by Steve Keim. It appears many, whose eyes are far more experienced than mine, agree.

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One last look in the NFL Draft rearview mirror