B-
Arizona Cardinals
Nobody dealt better than the Cardinals this weekend: B-.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 37 picks
· 14 steals
· 13 reaches
The Shaun Dolac pick is the one that will follow the Cardinals into the fall. They took him 171 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so.
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.
They went 8 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 24th overall pick they get a disruptor off the edge, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Nick Emmanwori in No. 37 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
The board had Princely Umanmielen higher than pick No. 44, and the edge rusher fell to them anyway. 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 Donovan Ezeiruaku. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Jihaad Campbell in the 64th pick, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
A slide stopped in slot 65, with Harold Fannin Jr. worth more than the price. The roster fit checks out.
No drama and no debate, Tate Ratledge went about where he belonged in the 66th pick. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A reach on Darien Porter in the Round 3 slot; the board had better options right there. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Fair-plus on Jayden Higgins, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Steal is underselling it; Jalon Walker at pick 78 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland at No. 79 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They went early on Cam Skattebo in Round 3, Pick 22, and the value did not follow. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Carson Schwesinger in the 87th overall pick. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They will replay Maxwell Hairston at slot 92 for years; that is how good the value is. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
By-the-book stuff, Will Howard at Round 3, Pick 36 squarely in line with his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid up for Billy Bowman Jr. at the Round 4 slot when waiting would have done the job. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
They read the board right and Charles Grant was the payoff at the 108th pick. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 114 with a little surplus value in Jordan Phillips. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They took Darius Alexander at par in slot 119, which is nothing to complain about. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They jumped the gun on Rylie Mills, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 125, where Anthony Belton graded well above the range. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They paid a round early for Aeneas Peebles in the 126th overall pick, more than the board wanted. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Willie Lampkin this early at No. 129. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Tory Horton in pick No. 131 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
You do not let a wide receiver like Jaylin Noel reach the Round 4 slot and blink. They did not. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Bhayshul Tuten at pick 133 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Value said wait; Ty Robinson in the 134th pick says they were not listening. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nick Nash in Round 4, Pick 35 is fair value, right on his grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Shaun Dolac in slot 138 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A need, and now a little less of one.
They paid sticker price for Raheim Sanders in the 139th overall pick, and that is fine. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board fumbled Jared Wilson all the way to slot 140, and they scooped it up. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Logan Brown at Round 5, Pick 5 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A big swing on Fadil Diggs at the 148th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cody Simon in the 149th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It fills a real need, too.
A straight-up fair deal on David Walker at pick No. 150, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They robbed the room for Lathan Ransom here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They talked themselves into Kyle Williams at No. 155, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.