B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals turned the phones into found money: B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 41 picks
· 10 steals
· 20 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Cardinals took Shaun Dolac a full 166 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend.
Getting Knight Jr. where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
They will regret leaving running back for another day if the season turns on it. Spending an early pick on cornerback with running back open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
They paid sticker price for Landon Jackson in slot 25, and that is fine. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
In the 30th pick they get a disruptor off the edge, a steep price for the projection. The biggest hole, addressed.
In Round 1, Pick 31 they get a bendy edge with upside, though the board says they badly overpaid. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Somehow Tyler Warren was still sitting there in the Round 2 slot, and they pounced on premier tight end value. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Armand Membou at No. 36 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Tyler Booker in the 39th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They barely believed it either: Jalon Walker still on the board at slot 41. A need, and now a little less of one.
Malaki Starks at pick No. 42 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A minor itch, scratched.
They took Trey Amos at par in Round 2, Pick 11, which is nothing to complain about. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They did well to land Jihaad Campbell in the 47th overall pick, just ahead of his grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
By-the-book stuff, Alfred Collins at the 56th pick squarely in line with his ranking. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Tre Harris at pick 58. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Ozzy Trapilo at the Round 2 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland at No. 70 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tate Ratledge. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A tidy little value on Deone Walker in pick 72, a step better than break-even. It fills a real need, too.
A quiet steal in slot 78: Xavier Restrepo for less than the market said. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Shemar Turner this early at No. 79. The roster fit checks out.
Harold Fannin Jr. in pick No. 88 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They liked Savion Williams enough to skip the value, taking him in the Round 3 slot. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jaylin Noel at the 92nd pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A want over a need in the 93rd overall pick: Denzel Burke adds a cornerback while running back keeps waiting.
A wild overpay on Rylie Mills in the 99th overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Value said wait; Emery Jones Jr. in slot 100 says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They talked themselves into Will Howard at the Round 4 slot, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They jumped the gun on Anthony Belton, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A real head-scratcher, Ty Robinson in No. 109 is miles ahead of his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Carson Schwesinger in the 110th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Chase Lundt well ahead of where he belonged. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached into another round for Willie Lampkin, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board had cheaper options than Kyren Lacy at the Round 4 slot, and it noticed. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board fumbled Demetrius Knight Jr. all the way to the 119th overall pick, and they scooped it up. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Shaun Dolac at the 126th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went cornerback with Tommi Hill while clear needs at running back sat open.
Steal is underselling it; Dylan Fairchild at pick No. 131 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A straight-up fair deal on Pat Bryant at No. 142, value and slot in agreement. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Nick Nash at Round 5, Pick 6 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They reached a country mile for Jahvaree Ritzie at pick 148, and the board is aghast. A need, and now a little less of one.
A slide stopped in slot 149, with Cody Simon worth more than the price. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jack Kiser in the Round 5 slot, miles early. It fills a real need, too.
Tosh Baker at pick No. 153 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.