B
Arizona Cardinals
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Cardinals a B.
by Stan 93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 42 picks
· 21 steals
· 14 reaches
There is reaching, and then there is John Emery Jr. at slot 213. The Cardinals jumped the board by 268 and dared it to prove them wrong. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B.
Landing Winston Jr. that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. That tight end hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
They let Shemar Stewart come to them and pounced at the Round 1 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
JT Tuimoloau in slot 48 is fair value, right on his grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Value with a capital V on Aireontae Ersery in the 58th overall pick, a genuine coup. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Alfred Collins in Round 2, Pick 27 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They took Aeneas Peebles at par in No. 81, which is nothing to complain about. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Denzel Burke at pick 85 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They will replay Jaxson Dart at the 91st overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Carson Schwesinger at No. 98 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Tre Harris at slot 114 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A big swing on Willie Lampkin at the Round 4 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Cam Skattebo at pick No. 118 is the proof. The roster fit checks out.
Jayden Higgins in pick 121 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Lathan Ransom at Round 4, Pick 25 is money in the bank, a safety taken below his worth. A minor itch, scratched.
Value said wait; David Walker in the 127th pick says they were not listening. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Connor Colby. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board had Anthony Belton higher than the Round 4 slot, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Vernon Broughton in pick 133, miles early. A need, and now a little less of one.
They paid sticker price for Rylie Mills in the 135th overall pick, and that is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They talked themselves into Chase Lundt at the 136th pick, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A straight-up fair deal on Jonah Monheim at slot 148, value and slot in agreement. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tyler Cooper this early at Round 5, Pick 12. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board fumbled O'Donnell Fortune all the way to pick No. 153, and they scooped it up. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They liked Cobee Bryant enough to skip the value, taking him in No. 175. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Shaun Dolac at pick 176 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached into another round for Jack Kiser, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Somehow Jaylin Noel was still sitting there in Round 6, Pick 1, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jabbar Muhammad at pick No. 185 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Nick Nash at the 192nd pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A real head-scratcher, Trey Zuhn III in the Round 6 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They robbed the room for Kevin Winston Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Emery Jones Jr. reach the 203rd overall pick and blink. They did not. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jeffrey Bassa in slot 204 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Tommi Hill in the Round 6 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A quiet steal in No. 206: Corey Kiner for less than the market said. It fills a real need, too.
Taking RJ Harvey in Round 6, Pick 29 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on John Emery Jr. in pick No. 213, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 226 with a little surplus value in Carson Vinson. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Tosh Baker in the 227th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached a country mile for Jalen Travis at the 233rd overall pick, and the board is aghast. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Garrett Dellinger at No. 238 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Circle this one: Kyle Williams at slot 245 is a fall that decides a draft. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A running back of that caliber at the 256th pick is the definition of value, full stop. It patches a soft spot without any drama.