B
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals worked the phones like thieves and earned a B.
by Zipper ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 6 steals
· 10 reaches
Nobody had Thor Griffith this high, and it is not close. The Cardinals reached 91 spots to get him at the Round 6 slot. A dependable weekend that grades out a B.
Getting Schwesinger where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. The phones were where this weekend was really won. They will regret leaving running back for another day if the season turns on it.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
They paid a round early for Mike Green in the Round 1 slot, more than the board wanted. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Steal is underselling it; Jalon Walker at the 49th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They talked themselves into Antwaun Powell-Ryland at the 78th overall pick, and the board did not agree. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tez Johnson. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached into another round for DeMonte Capehart, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The roster fit checks out.
Tommi Hill at pick 117 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A minor itch, scratched.
Mason Taylor at slot 120 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Billy Bowman Jr. at the 123rd overall pick is the proof. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
You do not let a linebacker like Danny Stutsman reach the Round 5 slot and blink. They did not. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A big swing on Jonah Monheim at pick No. 151, well ahead of any board in the building. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Quinn Carroll at No. 158 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A wild overpay on Thor Griffith in Round 6, Pick 4, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Circle this one: Carson Schwesinger at pick 213 is a fall that decides a draft. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Value with a capital V on Clay Webb in the 226th pick, a genuine coup. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
KJ Jefferson at Round 7, Pick 14 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached a country mile for Jamaree Caldwell at the Round 7 slot, and the board is aghast. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A premium they did not need to pay, Cooper Mays a notch or two before his time. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Marcus Dumervil at the 250th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.