Will the Arizona Cardinals’ Marquise Brown live up to the hype?

Did the Arizona Cardinals overpay for Marquise Brown?

Spending a first-round draft pick on a player who was only marginally better than Kirk in 2021 set off a handful of Cardinals fans, myself included. But, since then, Brown has grown on me to be a replacement for Hopkins.

What hasn’t settled in was the cost for Brown. A first-round draft pick with similar production to Kirk felt like Steve Keim got “Steve Keim-ed” by the Baltimore Ravens.

When the Cardinals were the only team to have a first-round draft pick in the NFC West, and they spent in an “oh bleep” move, the Cardinals squandered a chance to really improve other areas of the team.

The cornerback and defensive line positions are still two significant areas of concern. If a wide receiver was the goal all along and the team had known about Hopkins’ refusal to fight the suspension, why not try to move up and get a younger player whose contract will be more team-friendly for longer?

Verdict: Knox is correct- a first-round draft pick was too high for Brown.