A-
Arizona Cardinals
Grand theft in slot 198: the Cardinals steal Stutsman and grade out a A-.
by Stan ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 51 picks
· 19 steals
· 18 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Danny Stutsman tumbling to the Cardinals in pick 198 is a gift they did not have to think twice about.
Oben has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
The kind of weekend a front office frames and hangs on the wall.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 6 they get a cornerstone up front. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick No. 12 they get a disruptor off the edge at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
Jack Sawyer in the 14th pick is fair value, right on his grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
In Round 1, Pick 17 they get a quarterback's worst nightmare, even if it was a touch early. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a green-dot type in the middle. A real need, handled.
A clean, defensible pick in the 33rd overall pick with a little surplus value in Shavon Revel Jr.. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Kenneth Grant at pick 36 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The roster fit checks out.
They paid sticker price for Tyler Booker in No. 37, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No edge and no loss on Tyler Warren in slot 45; it is a wash and a sensible one. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They barely believed it either: Tate Ratledge still on the board at No. 49. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Luke Kandra at the Round 2 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
You do not let a safety like Malaki Starks reach pick No. 59 and blink. They did not. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Tyleik Williams at the 67th pick. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A straight-up fair deal on Donovan Ezeiruaku at Round 3, Pick 6, value and slot in agreement. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board had cheaper options than Aeneas Peebles at the 73rd overall pick, and it noticed. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A premium they did not need to pay, Tez Johnson a notch or two before his time. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board fumbled Jihaad Campbell all the way to pick No. 78, and they scooped it up. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They reached a country mile for Antwaun Powell-Ryland at pick 82, and the board is aghast. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They will replay Xavier Restrepo at No. 85 for years; that is how good the value is. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Taking Xavier Watts in the 86th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Deone Walker in the 88th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Tai Felton at slot 94 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Cam Skattebo at Round 3, Pick 37 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Charles Grant slid further than he should have, and the Round 4 slot is lovely value for the offensive lineman. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Barrett Carter in No. 105, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
Hollin Pierce at slot 106 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A big swing on JJ Pegues at pick 113, well ahead of any board in the building. A need, and now a little less of one.
Steal is underselling it; Dylan Fairchild at the 117th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Howard Cross III in pick No. 118 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Dylan Sampson at the 124th pick 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.
No drama and no debate, Kurtis Rourke went about where he belonged in Round 4, Pick 25. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Shemar Turner at the Round 5 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A need, and now a little less of one.
Azareye'h Thomas at Round 5, Pick 4 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They took Vernon Broughton at par in slot 142, which is nothing to complain about. The roster fit checks out.
By-the-book stuff, DeMonte Capehart at the Round 5 slot squarely in line with his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Nice patience on Hayden Conner, who had no business lasting to pick 152. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Nazir Stackhouse at the 163rd pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Sai'vion Jones this early at No. 167. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jonah Monheim in pick No. 171, miles early. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A quiet steal in the 176th overall pick: Joshua Gray for less than the market said. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Thor Griffith in the 177th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They robbed the room for Elic Ayomanor here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Nick Nash in the 190th pick says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Carson Schwesinger in Round 6, Pick 16 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A safety of that caliber at No. 192 is the definition of value, full stop. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Danny Stutsman in the Round 6 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Davison Igbinosun at slot 214 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A real head-scratcher, Anthony Belton in pick 215 is miles ahead of his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A wild overpay on Jamaree Caldwell in the Round 7 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They reached into another round for R.J. Oben, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
J.J. Weaver at the 256th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.