C+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals did enough to get by: C+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 39 picks
· 14 steals
· 18 reaches
The Cardinals went off the board in a big way for Tim Smith, 187 picks early. Conviction is one thing; this is another.
On value alone, Paul Jr. makes the weekend a net positive. Small wins on the phones, but wins all the same. The roster is better shaped than it was, with quarterback chief among the fixes.
A perfectly average weekend, for better and for worse.
Pick-by-Pick
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Wyatt Milum. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A big swing on Donovan Ezeiruaku at Round 2, Pick 2, well ahead of any board in the building. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Tyler Booker at pick No. 47 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Value with a capital V on Jihaad Campbell in pick 55, a genuine coup. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board had Alfred Collins higher than the Round 2 slot, and the interior defensive lineman fell to them anyway. A need, and now a little less of one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Aeneas Peebles well ahead of where he belonged. It fills a real need, too.
Jaxson Dart is a better player than the 68th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They will replay Harold Fannin Jr. at the 80th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Denzel Burke in No. 85 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Tre Harris in slot 87, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Value said wait; Antwaun Powell-Ryland in pick No. 88 says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Deone Walker in pick 98 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A tidy bit of business in Round 3, Pick 37, where Carson Schwesinger graded well above the range. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Good price on Charles Grant in the Round 4 slot, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A quiet steal in No. 104: Tez Johnson for less than the market said. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A tidy little value on Cam Skattebo in the 110th overall pick, a step better than break-even. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A wild overpay on Jabbar Muhammad in Round 4, Pick 12, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
They talked themselves into Cobee Bryant at the Round 4 slot, and the board did not agree. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Lathan Ransom slipping to the 121st pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Somehow Jaylin Noel was still sitting there in pick 123, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A wide receiver of that caliber at slot 124 is the definition of value, full stop. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Brashard Smith at pick No. 126 is money in the bank, a running back taken below his worth. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Raheim Sanders in No. 127 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Bhayshul Tuten in Round 4, Pick 28 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The roster fit checks out.
Ty Robinson at slot 132 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Connor Colby in the 134th pick, miles early. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A real head-scratcher, Trey Zuhn III in pick 136 is miles ahead of his ranking. 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 patches a soft spot without any drama.
You do not let a linebacker like Chris Paul Jr. reach the 139th overall pick and blink. They did not. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Cody Simon at pick No. 140 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It fills a real need, too.
Nick Nash at pick 153 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They went early on RJ Harvey in the 155th pick, and the value did not follow. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Vernon Broughton at slot 160 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the interior defensive lineman. The roster fit checks out.
Fadil Diggs at the Round 5 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Tonka Hemingway at Round 5, Pick 26 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tim Smith this early at No. 166. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They reached into another round for Que Robinson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Carson Vinson at pick No. 178 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached a country mile for Jalen Travis at No. 181, and the board is aghast. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.