C
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals bled value on every deal, hence the C.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 26 picks
· 16 steals
· 7 reaches
The Cardinals looked at the value chart, folded it up, and took Shaun Dolac at pick 135 regardless, 180 picks early.
On value alone, Loveland makes the weekend a net positive. The trades bled value they could not afford to lose.
Quarterback is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it. They trusted the board more than the depth chart.
In the end, a coin-flip class: fine today, with a wide range of outcomes ahead.
Pick-by-Pick
Good price on Wyatt Milum in pick No. 38, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They read the board right and Jack Sawyer was the payoff at No. 39. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Walter Nolen reach Round 2, Pick 8 and blink. They did not. A need, and now a little less of one.
Donovan Ezeiruaku at pick 55 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They robbed the room for Jalon Walker here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It fills a real need, too.
By-the-book stuff, Jaxson Dart at slot 60 squarely in line with his ranking. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Armand Membou in slot 61 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taking Malaki Starks in the 69th pick is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Azareye'h Thomas in No. 78 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Colston Loveland at pick No. 81 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Tate Ratledge in Round 3, Pick 37 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Rylie Mills at the 105th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Circle this one: Jack Bech at the Round 4 slot is a fall that decides a draft. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jared Wilson in pick 114 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Carson Schwesinger in the Round 4 slot, plain and simple. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Demetrius Knight Jr. at pick No. 118 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A tight end of that caliber at the 119th pick is the definition of value, full stop. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Maxwell Hairston in Round 4, Pick 21 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A big swing on Antwaun Powell-Ryland at the 125th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: Jayden Higgins still on the board at slot 129. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Steal is underselling it; Charles Grant at pick 132 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jermari Harris at No. 133 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Vernon Broughton at the Round 4 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Shaun Dolac in the 135th pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The roster fit checks out.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Bhayshul Tuten in Round 4, Pick 37, miles early. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They talked themselves into RJ Harvey at slot 139, and the board did not agree. It patches a soft spot without any drama.