B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals worked the phones like thieves and earned a B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 68 picks
· 13 steals
· 44 reaches
Nobody had Shaun Dolac this high, and it is not close. The Cardinals reached 202 spots to get him at No. 113. It does the job without flash, and the B+ reflects it.
The Spears-Jennings value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. The phones were where this weekend was really won. The Cardinals clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 24 they get a problem off the edge at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick No. 25 they get a bendy edge with upside, though the board says they badly overpaid. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a premier pass rusher, a steep price for the projection. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In No. 27 they get a press-man option on the boundary, and a steal at that. Need was not the driver here.
In pick 28 they get a go-to option on the outside, a steep price for the projection. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 29th pick they get a red-zone target to build around at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Walter Nolen in pick No. 30. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nick Emmanwori in the 33rd pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Tyler Booker at slot 34 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Kenneth Grant at the 35th overall pick is the proof. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They read the board right and Emeka Egbuka was the payoff at the Round 2 slot. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A wild overpay on Will Howard in No. 37, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jihaad Campbell in Round 2, Pick 9 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Value with a capital V on Armand Membou in pick 42, a genuine coup. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Trey Amos. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
They reached into another round for Ozzy Trapilo, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Deone Walker at the 46th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They paid a round early for Alfred Collins in pick 47, more than the board wanted. It fills a real need, too.
A premium they did not need to pay, Ashton Gillotte a notch or two before his time. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Maxwell Hairston in No. 49 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Nothing to complain about; Jonah Savaiinaea went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They liked Bradyn Swinson enough to skip the value, taking him in Round 2, Pick 20. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jared Ivey well ahead of where he belonged. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Jalon Walker in the 55th overall pick, plain and simple. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Value said wait; Tate Ratledge in pick No. 56 says they were not listening. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Aeneas Peebles at the Round 2 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A big swing on Jordan Phillips at the 62nd pick, well ahead of any board in the building. The roster fit checks out.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland at No. 63 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A real head-scratcher, Mello Dotson in Round 2, Pick 32 is miles ahead of his ranking. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A wide receiver of that caliber at slot 65 is the definition of value, full stop. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached a country mile for Nick Nash at the Round 3 slot, and the board is aghast. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A reach for Donovan Jackson in pick 78; a little patience would have been rewarded. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jayden Higgins at the 79th pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Carson Schwesinger in No. 80 is fair value, right on his grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Cam Skattebo in Round 3, Pick 21, miles early. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Raheim Sanders. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They took Tez Johnson at par in pick No. 88, which is nothing to complain about. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Rylie Mills at the 102nd overall pick, and the board did not agree. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Logan Brown in the 103rd overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No drama and no debate, Jaylin Noel went about where he belonged in No. 104. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Ty Robinson this early at pick 106. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Willie Lampkin at the Round 4 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They reached a country mile for Carson Vinson at pick No. 109, and the board is aghast. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value said wait; Miles Frazier in slot 110 says they were not listening. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Cam Jackson at Round 4, Pick 10 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It fills a real need, too.
Fadil Diggs at the 112th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Shaun Dolac in the 113th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A need, and now a little less of one.
Demetrius Knight Jr. at the 116th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
RJ Harvey at pick No. 118 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Elijah Arroyo at pick 127 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They talked themselves into Ahmed Hassanein at No. 131, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jackson Slater at Round 4, Pick 34 is a conviction pick that outran the value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jahvaree Ritzie at the Round 5 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The roster fit checks out.
A real head-scratcher, Cobee Bryant in slot 152 is miles ahead of his ranking. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A wild overpay on Tim Smith in pick 159, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tosh Baker this early at No. 167. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Taking Jabbar Muhammad in the Round 5 slot is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A big swing on Jalen Travis at the 179th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They reached into another round for Jacob Parrish, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Garrett Dellinger in slot 193 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kyle Williams in pick No. 200 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jake Briningstool in the 207th pick, miles early. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Jack Kiser in Round 6, Pick 32. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Xavier Truss. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Theo Wease Jr. at pick 220, value and slot in agreement. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Steal is underselling it; Robert Spears-Jennings at slot 227 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Thor Griffith well ahead of where he belonged. A need, and now a little less of one.
They paid up for Jackson Hawes at the 245th overall pick when waiting would have done the job. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.