C+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals won the night they stopped Mondon Jr. from sliding. Grade: C+.
by Ezhai ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 5 picks
· 2 steals
· 2 reaches
When a board-topper like Smael Mondon Jr. slides to Round 5, Pick 14, you do not overthink it, and the Cardinals did not.
The cost of the Ewers reach is exactly the players who went right after him. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with quarterback the one that mattered most.
In the end, a coin-flip class: fine today, with a wide range of outcomes ahead.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 16th pick they get a building block for the line, a steep price for the projection. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They talked themselves into Quinn Ewers at slot 47, and the board did not agree. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid sticker price for Aeneas Peebles in pick 78, and that is fine. The roster fit checks out.
Tory Horton slipping to Round 4, Pick 12 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Smael Mondon Jr. in No. 151 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.