B-
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals turned the phones into found money: B-.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 44 picks
· 17 steals
· 18 reaches
When a board-topper like Anthony Belton slides to pick 224, you do not overthink it, and the Cardinals did not. The bottom line is a respectable B-.
They are betting Dolac proves the room right and everyone else wrong. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 32 they get juice off the edge at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
No drama and no debate, Tyler Booker went about where he belonged in slot 37. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They robbed the room for Walter Nolen here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Grey Zabel at pick 47. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The board had cheaper options than Donovan Ezeiruaku at No. 54, and it noticed. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Elic Ayomanor in the 78th overall pick, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Good price on Carson Schwesinger in Round 3, Pick 26, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The roster fit checks out.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Kyle McCord well ahead of where he belonged. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Cam Skattebo at slot 95 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
O'Donnell Fortune at the Round 4 slot is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Lathan Ransom at Round 4, Pick 18 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They barely believed it either: Tez Johnson still on the board at slot 123. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
No edge and no loss on Terrance Ferguson in pick 125; it is a wash and a sensible one. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Value said wait; Antwaun Powell-Ryland in the 127th overall pick says they were not listening. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They paid sticker price for Shemar Turner in pick No. 129, and that is fine. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They reached into another round for Willie Lampkin, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jabbar Muhammad in No. 133 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
The board fumbled Donovan Jackson all the way to the Round 4 slot, and they scooped it up. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Savion Williams in slot 140 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Nick Nash. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Rylie Mills slipping to No. 148 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jared Wilson at the Round 5 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Ajani Cornelius in the 153rd overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They jumped the gun on David Walker, taking him earlier than his grade liked. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Elijah Roberts at the 160th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They read the board right and Vernon Broughton was the payoff at pick No. 161. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Luke Kandra at the 162nd overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A big swing on Quinn Carroll at pick No. 167, well ahead of any board in the building. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jalen Travis in the Round 5 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Ahmed Hassanein at No. 180 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A real head-scratcher, Tonka Hemingway in slot 182 is miles ahead of his ranking. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Kevin Jennings at the 184th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Shaun Dolac. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Nice patience on Cobee Bryant, who had no business lasting to Round 6, Pick 20. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Fair-plus on Kyle Williams, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jake Briningstool this early at the 214th overall pick. It fills a real need, too.
A tidy little value on CJ West in Round 6, Pick 40, a step better than break-even. A need, and now a little less of one.
By-the-book stuff, Cam Jackson at the 221st pick squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They let Carson Vinson come to them and pounced at slot 223. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Anthony Belton in pick No. 224 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached a country mile for Garrett Dellinger at pick 227, and the board is aghast. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They will replay Antwane Wells Jr. at the Round 7 slot for years; that is how good the value is. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: Jacob Parrish at the Round 7 slot is a fall that decides a draft. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Shilo Sanders at the 238th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.