F
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals overdrafted Sorrell and paid the price. Grade: F.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 24 picks
· 9 steals
· 13 reaches
Nobody else had Barryn Sorrell anywhere near Round 5, Pick 14. The Cardinals did, by 174 spots, and that gap is the whole story. There is no dressing it up: a F.
That is a linebacker worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
The verdict is harsh because the weekend was, and there is little to argue.
Pick-by-Pick
Jack Sawyer at Round 1, Pick 23 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Donovan Ezeiruaku. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Maxwell Hairston at No. 47 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A wild overpay on Ozzy Trapilo in pick 54, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Deone Walker at pick No. 74 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the interior defensive lineman. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board fumbled Jihaad Campbell all the way to the 81st overall pick, and they scooped it up. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Elijah Arroyo is a better player than the 94th overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A need, and now a little less of one.
They read the board right and Dylan Fairchild was the payoff at slot 110. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Andrew Mukuba in Round 4, Pick 12 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Emery Jones Jr. at pick No. 114 is a conviction pick that outran the value. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Nick Nash at the 123rd pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Steal is underselling it; Demetrius Knight Jr. at pick 145 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The roster fit checks out.
A real head-scratcher, Barryn Sorrell in No. 153 is miles ahead of his ranking. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
You do not let a linebacker like Carson Schwesinger reach the Round 5 slot and blink. They did not. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They will replay Cam Skattebo at the 170th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Willie Lampkin at No. 172 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Ricky White III in pick 174 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Value said wait; Kyle Williams in the 190th pick says they were not listening. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They barely believed it either: Cody Simon still on the board at the Round 6 slot. It fills a real need, too.
They reached into another round for Garrett Dellinger, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Taking RJ Harvey in pick No. 222 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A big swing on DJ Uiagalelei at slot 240, well ahead of any board in the building. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Shaun Dolac this early at the Round 7 slot. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jamaree Caldwell well ahead of where he belonged. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.