C+
Arizona Cardinals
Flashes of a plan, unevenly executed. Cardinals: C+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 57 picks
· 29 steals
· 18 reaches
The Cardinals spent real capital to be 142 picks early on Shaun Dolac, and the board is going to hold them to it. Call it a C+ and check back in two years.
On value alone, Paul Jr. makes the weekend a net positive. Quarterback is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it. A modest surplus at the table, banked quietly.
Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
So much rides on Nic Scourton that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 28 they get a bendy edge with upside at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In Round 1, Pick 29 they get protection for the quarterback. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Tate Ratledge in pick No. 64 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Jalon Walker here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They will replay Armand Membou at pick 70 for years; that is how good the value is. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They read the board right and Azareye'h Thomas was the payoff at the Round 3 slot. A minor itch, scratched.
They talked themselves into Antwaun Powell-Ryland at pick No. 81, and the board did not agree. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Aeneas Peebles at No. 88 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the interior defensive lineman. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Donovan Jackson at slot 91 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A top-tier quarterback at a bargain, Jaxson Dart in the 96th pick, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Omarr Norman-Lott in Round 4, Pick 5 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
You do not let a linebacker like Carson Schwesinger reach the Round 4 slot and blink. They did not. A need, and now a little less of one.
Darius Alexander at the 110th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Somehow Jack Bech was still sitting there in pick 113, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Gunnar Helm in pick No. 114 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Cam Skattebo slid further than he should have, and Round 4, Pick 17 is lovely value for the running back. 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 120th overall pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Denzel Burke at the 121st pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A quiet steal in No. 122: Lathan Ransom for less than the market said. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
The board fumbled Jayden Higgins all the way to slot 123, and they scooped it up. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jared Wilson at pick 124 is the proof. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Rylie Mills at the Round 4 slot jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They barely believed it either: Ozzy Trapilo still on the board at pick No. 128. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They reached a country mile for Ty Robinson at the 129th pick, and the board is aghast. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Savion Williams at pick 133 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jaylin Noel in slot 137 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A wide receiver of that caliber at the Round 4 slot is the definition of value, full stop. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Mason Taylor at the 139th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The roster fit checks out.
O'Donnell Fortune is a better player than Round 5, Pick 1 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
By-the-book stuff, Sai'vion Jones at No. 143 squarely in line with his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Steal is underselling it; Chris Paul Jr. at the 148th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It fills a real need, too.
No edge and no loss on Nick Nash in Round 5, Pick 14; it is a wash and a sensible one. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Circle this one: Brashard Smith at the Round 5 slot is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Hollin Pierce in pick 159 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Circle this one: Joshua Farmer at the 160th pick is a fall that decides a draft. It fills a real need, too.
Taking Tory Horton in slot 161 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A linebacker of that caliber at pick No. 162 is the definition of value, full stop. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A real head-scratcher, Ahmed Hassanein in No. 163 is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jonah Monheim slipping to the 166th overall pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Chase Lundt. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A conviction pick on Tyler Cooper at slot 170 that the board grades a round light. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Pat Bryant in pick 171 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Kyle Williams at No. 172 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Raheim Sanders in Round 5, Pick 34 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Fair-plus on RJ Harvey, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Shaun Dolac in pick No. 175, miles early. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They will replay Oronde Gadsden II at the Round 5 slot for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Cobee Bryant in the 182nd pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jack Kiser. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Cam Jackson in pick No. 184 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
Tonka Hemingway at No. 187 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A tidy little value on Connor Colby in slot 189, a step better than break-even. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Ricky White III in Round 6, Pick 15 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Trey Zuhn III at pick 196 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached into another round for Carson Vinson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jalen Travis well ahead of where he belonged. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A wild overpay on Que Robinson in slot 200, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.