The year-long work scouts put in at their job culminated last week with the NFL draft. And in an effort to reward the effort of such crucial organization members who usually aren't seen and heard from, the Cardinals began the Rod Graves College Scouting Award.

This year, the award -- given at the conclusion of the draft -- went to Darius Vinnett, who is responsible for the near-East region of the country. Vinnett started with the team in 2013 as a scouting assistant, was the Cardinals' representative for the National Scouting Service for three years and then became an area scout in 2017.

John Mancini won the award in its inaugural year of 2021.

The award, named after the Cardinals' long-time GM who took the team to its lone Super Bowl appearance, is based on multiple years of analytical research and prospect grade accuracy.