B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 62 picks
· 18 steals
· 30 reaches
The Cardinals bet big and early on Shaun Dolac, 146 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. No fireworks, but a solid B+.
That Carter pick is the receipt they will wave around later. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 22nd pick they get juice off the edge. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Jack Sawyer at No. 24 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
In pick 25 they get a double-digit-sack hope, a steep price for the projection. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the Round 1 slot they get a red-zone target to build around at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
In pick No. 27 they get an anchor for the defensive front at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 28 they get a quarterback's worst nightmare. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the 30th pick they get a premier pass rusher, though the board says they badly overpaid. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the Round 1 slot they get a matchup problem out wide. The biggest hole, addressed.
Malaki Starks at Round 2, Pick 1 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They paid sticker price for Jihaad Campbell in pick 34, and that is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland at slot 35 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A wild overpay on Alfred Collins in pick No. 36, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Josh Conerly Jr. at the 39th overall pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They did well to land Tyler Booker in No. 41, just ahead of his grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A big swing on Ozzy Trapilo at slot 44, well ahead of any board in the building. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A straight-up fair deal on Trey Amos at pick 45, value and slot in agreement. A minor itch, scratched.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Deone Walker this early at the 47th overall pick. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
By-the-book stuff, Tre Harris at the Round 2 slot squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They reached a country mile for Will Howard at No. 51, and the board is aghast. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Taking Jalon Walker in pick No. 55 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They will replay Omarion Hampton at Round 2, Pick 26 for years; that is how good the value is. It fills a real need, too.
Nick Emmanwori at the 62nd pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
A quiet steal in the Round 2 slot: Isaiah Bond for less than the market said. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Tate Ratledge in No. 65 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Xavier Watts in Round 3, Pick 2 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Nothing to complain about; Azareye'h Thomas went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Logan Brown in the 69th pick, miles early. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Anthony Belton at slot 87 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Rylie Mills in the 88th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A real head-scratcher, Hollin Pierce in pick No. 95 is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Ty Robinson well ahead of where he belonged. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Value said wait; Chase Lundt in pick 107 says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They talked themselves into Willie Lampkin at the 109th pick, and the board did not agree. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A wide receiver of that caliber at the Round 4 slot is the definition of value, full stop. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Circle this one: Carson Schwesinger at No. 114 is a fall that decides a draft. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Trey Zuhn III at pick No. 125 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Carson Vinson at the 126th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They reached into another round for Miles Frazier, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cam Skattebo in pick No. 129 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A need, and now a little less of one.
Tosh Baker in slot 140 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
No drama and no debate, Nick Nash went about where he belonged in the Round 5 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Shaun Dolac. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Shemar Turner reach pick 152 and blink. They did not. The roster fit checks out.
Vernon Broughton in the 161st pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Kyle Williams at No. 162 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They reached into another round for Ricky White III, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jay Higgins in the Round 5 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Jalen Travis in the 174th overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Garrett Dellinger well ahead of where he belonged. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Barrett Carter in No. 177, plain and simple. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jake Briningstool. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A real head-scratcher, Tonka Hemingway in the 183rd pick is miles ahead of his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
They robbed the room for Cody Simon here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It fills a real need, too.
Jonas Sanker at slot 190 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Kaden Prather in slot 194, miles early. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Steal is underselling it; Brashard Smith at the 195th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Somehow Jared Wilson was still sitting there in the 197th pick, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
The board fumbled Billy Bowman Jr. all the way to No. 201, and they scooped it up. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Oronde Gadsden II at the Round 6 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Hayden Conner in Round 6, Pick 28 is fair value, right on his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Xzavier Henderson this early at pick 211. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They liked DJ Campbell enough to skip the value, taking him in pick No. 212. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.