C
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals got the worse of every deal, and it shows in the C.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 28 picks
· 13 steals
· 7 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Cardinals would have aced it. Shaun Dolac at No. 131 is 170 spots clear of where he belonged. The final tally is a middling C.
The Warren steal is the beam this whole class leans on. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. On the needs board they went 8 of 8, with quarterback the one that mattered most.
The verdict is a shrug for now, with the swing picks left to write the real ending.
Pick-by-Pick
Shemar Stewart at pick 38 is money in the bank, a edge rusher taken below his worth. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jahdae Barron at the 47th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Donovan Ezeiruaku in Round 2, Pick 16 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They will replay Tyler Warren at No. 54 for years; that is how good the value is. It fills a real need, too.
Alfred Collins at the Round 2 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Deone Walker in slot 70 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A straight-up fair deal on Tate Ratledge at Round 3, Pick 7, value and slot in agreement. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Taking Elic Ayomanor in the 78th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board fumbled Jaxson Dart all the way to the Round 3 slot, and they scooped it up. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
You do not let a cornerback like Azareye'h Thomas reach the 82nd pick and blink. They did not. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A tidy little value on Aeneas Peebles in pick 88, a step better than break-even. A need, and now a little less of one.
A quiet steal in slot 98: Donovan Jackson for less than the market said. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Cody Simon this early at pick No. 106. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
David Walker at No. 114 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They read the board right and Charles Grant was the payoff at the Round 4 slot. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They took Luke Kandra at par in the 119th pick, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They let Jordan Phillips come to them and pounced at the 123rd overall pick. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Joshua Farmer at Round 4, Pick 23 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
By-the-book stuff, Shemar Turner at pick 125 squarely in line with his ranking. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Malachi Moore at pick No. 126 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Darius Alexander in slot 128 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They liked Rylie Mills enough to skip the value, taking him in No. 129. The roster fit checks out.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Tonka Hemingway well ahead of where he belonged. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A big swing on Shaun Dolac at pick 131, well ahead of any board in the building. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Nick Nash at pick No. 132 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A wide receiver of that caliber at the Round 4 slot is the definition of value, full stop. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Cam Skattebo at No. 135 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Ricky White III in the 238th pick, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.