B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals turned the phones into found money: B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 43 picks
· 9 steals
· 22 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Cardinals reached some 257 spots for Thomas Fidone II, and value like that does not grow back. The bottom line is a respectable B+.
The Zabel value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. The Cardinals paired the rookies with proven help, Drake Maye leading the way.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 14th overall pick they get a problem off the edge. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick 16 they get a true top target at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In slot 19 they get a blindside protector, outstanding value to boot. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get juice off the edge, reach and all. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In No. 24 they get a run-stuffing presence up front. A real need, handled.
In Round 1, Pick 27 they get a seam-stretching tight end, and a steal at that. A clean fit for the roster.
In the 28th pick they get a ballhawk on the back end at a price that makes it sweeter. More want than need.
In slot 29 they get a wrecking ball inside at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
In pick 30 they get a press-man option on the boundary, and a steal at that. Need was not the driver here.
In No. 31 they get a cornerstone up front. Exactly the need they had to hit.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Josaiah Stewart. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No drama and no debate, Jihaad Campbell went about where he belonged in pick No. 34. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A real head-scratcher, Jared Ivey in the Round 2 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tyler Booker. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They paid sticker price for Jaxson Dart in Round 2, Pick 5, and that is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached into another round for Demetrius Knight Jr., and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It fills a real need, too.
Wyatt Milum at slot 39 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A slide stopped in the 40th overall pick, with Derrick Harmon worth more than the price. The roster fit checks out.
Maxwell Hairston at the Round 2 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A wild overpay on Antwaun Powell-Ryland in the 43rd pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Tre Harris in No. 45 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Good price on T.J. Sanders in pick No. 46, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Tyleik Williams in slot 47 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jayden Higgins in pick No. 48, miles early. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Tate Ratledge at the 49th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They talked themselves into Darien Porter at pick 53, and the board did not agree. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Carson Schwesinger in the 57th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A big swing on Cam Skattebo at Round 3, Pick 5, well ahead of any board in the building. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Willie Lampkin in No. 70 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They barely believed it either: Grey Zabel still on the board at the Round 3 slot. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Isaiah Bond at pick 74 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A tidy bit of business in the Round 3 slot, where Deone Walker graded well above the range. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached a country mile for Darius Alexander at slot 77, and the board is aghast. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jamaree Caldwell this early at Round 3, Pick 14. A need, and now a little less of one.
Value said wait; Ty Robinson in the 79th overall pick says they were not listening. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Shaun Dolac at pick No. 80 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Aireontae Ersery in the 81st pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Fadil Diggs well ahead of where he belonged. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Bhayshul Tuten at the 88th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Nick Nash this early at No. 93. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Thomas Fidone II. The roster fit checks out.
Anthony Belton in the 99th pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A real head-scratcher, Rylie Mills in the Round 4 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.