B
Arizona Cardinals
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Cardinals a B.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 49 picks
· 19 steals
· 24 reaches
Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Cardinals spent the 155th pick on Shaun Dolac, a name the board had a full 160 spots lower. Good, not great, and the B says as much.
The Farmer steal is the beam this whole class leans on. The Cardinals clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before. They squeezed a little extra out of every move they made.
They went 8 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
Walter Nolen in pick 37 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board had cheaper options than JT Tuimoloau at the 38th overall pick, and it noticed. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Donovan Ezeiruaku in the 50th pick, miles early. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Tre Harris in the Round 2 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Harold Fannin Jr. at pick No. 61 is money in the bank, a tight end taken below his worth. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They jumped the gun on Donovan Jackson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value said wait; Antwaun Powell-Ryland in the 78th pick says they were not listening. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jack Bech is a better player than slot 81 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A quiet steal in pick No. 85: Andrew Mukuba for less than the market said. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Tez Johnson in No. 89 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Ozzy Trapilo slid further than he should have, and the 108th overall pick is lovely value for the offensive lineman. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jordan Phillips. A need, and now a little less of one.
Steal is underselling it; Denzel Burke at the Round 4 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A minor itch, scratched.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Mello Dotson this early at Round 4, Pick 19. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Billy Bowman Jr. at the 121st pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They reached into another round for Jabbar Muhammad, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They reached a country mile for Ty Robinson at the 124th overall pick, and the board is aghast. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Circle this one: Tai Felton at pick No. 125 is a fall that decides a draft. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Willie Lampkin in Round 4, Pick 25 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A conviction pick on Cody Simon at pick 127 that the board grades a round light. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Jonah Monheim in the Round 4 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Tyler Shough in slot 132 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Cobee Bryant well ahead of where he belonged. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Ahmed Hassanein at No. 136 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Cam Jackson at pick 137 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A linebacker of that caliber at the 138th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They paid sticker price for Jay Higgins in pick No. 139, and that is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
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.
A premium they did not need to pay, Raheim Sanders a notch or two before his time. The roster fit checks out.
They did well to land Lander Barton in the 142nd pick, just ahead of his grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board fumbled Hollin Pierce all the way to pick 143, and they scooped it up. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Kyren Lacy at the Round 5 slot. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid up for Nick Nash at pick No. 147 when waiting would have done the job. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Anthony Belton at the 148th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Emery Jones Jr. in the 150th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They talked themselves into Jaylen Reed at No. 153, and the board did not agree. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A real head-scratcher, Chase Lundt in slot 154 is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Shaun Dolac at Round 5, Pick 16 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It fills a real need, too.
A big swing on Jalen McLeod at Round 5, Pick 17, well ahead of any board in the building. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Jack Nelson reach No. 158 and blink. They did not. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Darius Alexander in pick No. 159 is close to grand larceny; an interior defensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They barely believed it either: Oronde Gadsden II still on the board at pick 161. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Pat Bryant slipping to the Round 5 slot is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Dont'e Thornton Jr.. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They will replay Kobe King at slot 165 for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith at the 167th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Somehow Joshua Farmer was still sitting there in the Round 5 slot, and they pounced on premier interior defensive lineman value. It fills a real need, too.
A wild overpay on Fadil Diggs in the 172nd overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached into another round for Kyle Williams, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.