B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 51 picks
· 6 steals
· 33 reaches
There is reaching, and then there is Jalen Travis at No. 139. The Cardinals jumped the board by 150 and dared it to prove them wrong. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
Getting Walker where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a run-stuffing presence up front. A clean fit for the roster.
In slot 19 they get a double-digit-sack hope at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
No drama and no debate, Mike Green went about where he belonged in pick No. 21. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A reach on Grey Zabel in Round 1, Pick 22; the board had better options right there. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
In pick 24 they get a premier pass rusher. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the 25th overall pick they get a go-to option on the outside. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In pick No. 27 they get a problem off the edge, though the board says they badly overpaid. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Donovan Ezeiruaku in slot 28 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
In Round 1, Pick 29 they get a seam-stretching tight end, outstanding value to boot. A real need, handled.
Armand Membou at the Round 2 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Tyler Booker at par in the 35th pick, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jihaad Campbell in pick 36 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They robbed the room for Nick Emmanwori here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Maxwell Hairston at the 45th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Matthew Golden at Round 2, Pick 14 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They talked themselves into Ozzy Trapilo at No. 47, and the board did not agree. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Deone Walker at pick No. 48 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tre Harris. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Omarion Hampton in slot 50, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They reached into another round for Jack Bech, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A real head-scratcher, Antwaun Powell-Ryland in the Round 2 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 61 with a little surplus value in Alfred Collins. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached a country mile for Mello Dotson at No. 70, and the board is aghast. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
A big swing on Jabbar Muhammad at the Round 3 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
You do not let a linebacker like Jalon Walker reach pick 79 and blink. They did not. The roster fit checks out.
Tez Johnson at pick No. 80 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Value said wait; Jaylin Noel in the 81st overall pick says they were not listening. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A wild overpay on Willie Lampkin in Round 3, Pick 18, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Cobee Bryant in slot 83 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Will Howard. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Carson Schwesinger at the 91st overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It fills a real need, too.
A premium they did not need to pay, Cam Skattebo a notch or two before his time. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Rylie Mills at pick 100 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Nick Nash in the 102nd pick, miles early. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Logan Brown at slot 103 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The board had cheaper options than Emery Jones Jr. at the Round 4 slot, and it noticed. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Chase Lundt this early at Round 4, Pick 19. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Raheim Sanders well ahead of where he belonged. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for RJ Harvey. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A real head-scratcher, Trey Zuhn III in the Round 4 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Carson Vinson at slot 135 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Jalen Travis at pick 139, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Denzel Burke at pick No. 141 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Kyle Williams in the 142nd pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Fadil Diggs this early at the 143rd overall pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value said wait; Cam Jackson in Round 5, Pick 5 says they were not listening. A need, and now a little less of one.
They reached into another round for Miles Frazier, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Taking Terrance Ferguson in pick No. 159 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jacob Parrish at Round 5, Pick 38 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Garrett Dellinger at pick 179 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached a country mile for Shilo Sanders at the Round 6 slot, and the board is aghast. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.