Grading All Four Arizona Cardinals Trades in 2022

The Cardinals made four trades throughout 2022 with varying results. Here, we rank and grade each of them respectively.

The Arizona Cardinals kept themselves busy this past season and made plenty of moves throughout the last calendar year to make them competitive. Unfortunately, most of those trades didn't wind up making a big enough impact on the team, and looking back at them it's hard not to cringe.

The Cardinals made four trades dating from the 2022 NFL Draft until midway through the 2022 season and we're going to rank the trades from worst to first and give them a letter grade as well. Let's start with the worst of the worst:

4. Adding depth with Trayvon Mullen

Mullen didn't even finish the 2022 season with the Cardinals and that should be all I have to write about this trade to tell you it was the worst the team made in 2022. But to really illustrate how bad this deal was, let's break it down.

Mullen was likely to be a cap casualty for the Las Vegas Raiders, but the Cardinals wanted to assure they got him so they moved a conditional seventh-round pick in 2023 for him. That seventh could've turned into a sixth if Mullen was active for ten games. He would only play five before being cut and ending up with the Dallas Cowboys.

In his extremely forgettable time with the Cardinals, Mullen recorded 13 tackles, a forced fumble, and a single pass deflection all while being a liability in coverage. Yeah, this was a trade to forget.

Grade: F

3. A midseason trade for Robbie Anderson

This was a tough choice deciding which was worse, but Mullen edges Anderson out since Anderson made the team for the entirety of his time with the Cardinals. Still, this was a bad trade.

While the Cardinals moved for a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 seventh-round pick, what we would consider pennies on the dollar, Anderson made practically zero impact on the team. Anderson was added when Marquise Brown got injured midseason to help keep the wide receiver room afloat and he couldn't find a way to do anything of the sort. Anderson hauled in seven of his 17 targets for 76 yards in 10 games.

This was a bad trade through and through, regardless of the capital moved. The fact that they gave up anything for this kind of production is bad.

Grade: F

2. A forgotten move for Cody Ford

Photo: Alex Weiner, Sports Illustrated

You'd be forgiven for forgetting that the Cardinals acquired Ford from the Bills just before the season started. He made that little of an impact on the team.

Ford played just 324 snaps this season and missed the first six games of the year due to an ankle injury. Even when healthy, Ford couldn't stay on the field for poor play and was out-snapped by Will Hernandez and Josh Jones. Ford wasn't even the third-best option, as Justin Pugh missed most of the season with an injury. 

Despite the Cardinals' offensive line being in shambles all year ranging from injuries to poor play, Ford did nothing to fix the problem and instead piled on to the pile. I am feeling generous and won't give this an F, but this trade was pitiful.

Grade: D-

1. Cardinals acquire Marquise Brown for a first

The only thing that held the man best known as Hollywood Brown from recording career numbers in 2022 was a foot injury that cost him five games. At the time of the injury, there was suspicion that it would be season-ending, but Brown came back and finished out the year.

Brown was acquired on a 2022 NFL Draft Day trade with the Baltimore Ravens to compliment Brown's college teammate, Kyler Murray, and help the team get passed the DeAndre Hopkins suspension. The Cardinals moved the 25th overall pick to acquire Brown and a third-round pick in the draft.

It seems fair to say that the Cardinals got a good return investment in year one for Brown, as he churned out 709 yards in 12 games. Brown showed some marvelous play-making abilities in his time on the field and gives the Cardinals some certainty at the position for at least one more year (pending extension).

We are about to learn a lot about this trade and whether or not it will be worth it with the anticipated trade of Hopkins to come. As for 2022, this trade was the only hit for the Cardinals in the past calendar year and it was a good one.

Grade: B

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