B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals worked the phones like thieves and earned a B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 42 picks
· 11 steals
· 27 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Cardinals took Shaun Dolac a full 154 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. No fireworks, but a solid B+.
Landing Campbell that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 24 they get a double-digit-sack hope, though the board says they badly overpaid. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the 30th pick they get a potential shutdown corner at a price that makes it sweeter. More want than need.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Donovan Ezeiruaku well ahead of where he belonged. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Taking Tyler Warren in pick 47 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Malaki Starks at slot 48 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A minor need, but a need all the same.
You do not let a linebacker like Jalon Walker reach Round 2, Pick 24 and blink. They did not. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Alfred Collins at No. 57 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A conviction pick on Tate Ratledge at Round 2, Pick 30 that the board grades a round light. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They jumped the gun on Donovan Jackson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They reached into another round for Emery Jones Jr., and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland at pick No. 76 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Willie Lampkin in slot 78 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Deone Walker is a better player than the 79th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Steal is underselling it; Jihaad Campbell at pick 80 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
Will Howard at slot 88 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
No edge and no loss on Tez Johnson in No. 92; it is a wash and a sensible one. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jaylin Noel in the Round 3 slot is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They took Dylan Fairchild at par in pick No. 94, which is nothing to complain about. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jack Nelson this early at pick 97. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Elijah Arroyo in the 106th pick, plain and simple. The roster fit checks out.
Carson Schwesinger at Round 4, Pick 7 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They reached a country mile for Chase Lundt at the 109th overall pick, and the board is aghast. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A big swing on Rylie Mills at the Round 4 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Carson Vinson at slot 111 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Logan Brown. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Ty Robinson in pick 113, miles early. It fills a real need, too.
They will replay Mason Taylor at Round 4, Pick 13 for years; that is how good the value is. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jackson Slater at pick No. 115 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They talked themselves into Trey Zuhn III at No. 116, and the board did not agree. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They barely believed it either: Savion Williams still on the board at the 117th overall pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cam Skattebo at slot 125 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A real head-scratcher, Nick Nash in the 131st pick is miles ahead of his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Shaun Dolac in the Round 5 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A wild overpay on Tosh Baker in No. 139, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Jalen Travis in the 141st overall pick says they were not listening. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A wild overpay on Tyler Cooper in pick No. 143, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A real head-scratcher, Jack Kiser in Round 5, Pick 9 is miles ahead of his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
By-the-book stuff, Pat Bryant at pick 147 squarely in line with his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Kyle Williams in pick No. 148 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.
Value said wait; RJ Harvey in Round 5, Pick 13 says they were not listening. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Jacob Parrish at pick 152 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Jonas Sanker in the Round 5 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.