C+
Arizona Cardinals
The jury is out on the Cardinals. For now, C+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 27 picks
· 5 steals
· 16 reaches
The Cardinals bet big and early on Shaun Dolac, 167 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. It nets out a thoroughly average C+.
That Taylor pick is the receipt they will wave around later. The trades cost them a sliver of value they did not need to spend. They left with quarterback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
Bottom line, the swing picks will decide whether this ages well.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 31st overall pick they get juice off the edge. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Circle this one: Kenneth Grant at the Round 2 slot is a fall that decides a draft. A need, and now a little less of one.
The board fumbled Nick Emmanwori all the way to pick 54, and they scooped it up. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Tate Ratledge at slot 55 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Maxwell Hairston. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at pick No. 80 is the definition of value, full stop. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They talked themselves into Will Howard at Round 3, Pick 22, and the board did not agree. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A premium they did not need to pay, Jaylin Noel a notch or two before his time. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Fair-plus on Carson Schwesinger, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Steal is underselling it; Deone Walker at pick No. 95 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Aeneas Peebles in pick 97, miles early. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They paid sticker price for Cam Skattebo in the Round 3 slot, and that is fine. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Willie Lampkin this early at the 102nd pick. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No drama and no debate, Anthony Belton went about where he belonged in the 114th overall pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Logan Brown in the Round 4 slot says they were not listening. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Darius Alexander at No. 116 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It fills a real need, too.
David Walker at pick 123 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Elijah Roberts in the 126th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Fadil Diggs. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They robbed the room for Mason Taylor here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They reached a country mile for Connor Colby at slot 129, and the board is aghast. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Bhayshul Tuten well ahead of where he belonged. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached into another round for Ty Robinson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Rylie Mills at the 132nd pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
RJ Harvey in Round 4, Pick 32 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.
A wild overpay on Shaun Dolac in pick 135, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They paid up for Nick Nash at the Round 4 slot when waiting would have done the job. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.