B
Arizona Cardinals
Nobody dealt better than the Cardinals this weekend: B.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 34 picks
· 11 steals
· 18 reaches
The Cardinals did not so much draft Steven Parker as overpay for him, 184 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. It does the job without flash, and the B reflects it.
That is a tight end worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. The veteran additions, Yaya Diaby chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
On the needs board they went 8 of 8, with quarterback the one that mattered most.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 32 they get a problem off the edge at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A wild overpay on Antwaun Powell-Ryland in Round 2, Pick 15, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
No drama and no debate, Alfred Collins went about where he belonged in the Round 2 slot. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jihaad Campbell at the 81st pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The roster fit checks out.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Darien Porter at the 87th overall pick. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Hollin Pierce in slot 90 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Tate Ratledge in Round 3, Pick 33 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Harold Fannin Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It fills a real need, too.
Tai Felton at the 108th pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached into another round for Rylie Mills, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Luke Kandra. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Circle this one: Malachi Moore at No. 114 is a fall that decides a draft. A minor itch, scratched.
Chase Lundt in slot 118 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Steal is underselling it; Carson Schwesinger at the Round 4 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A real head-scratcher, Jackson Slater in Round 4, Pick 26 is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into Ty Robinson at pick No. 128, and the board did not agree. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jabbar Muhammad in pick 129, miles early. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
They will replay Elijah Arroyo at the Round 4 slot for years; that is how good the value is. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board fumbled Cam Skattebo all the way to No. 133, and they scooped it up. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Pat Bryant in the 138th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Kevin Jennings at slot 139 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid up for Nick Nash at the 141st pick when waiting would have done the job. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jahvaree Ritzie at No. 147 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Steven Parker well ahead of where he belonged. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Taking Kyren Lacy in the 150th 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.
Value said wait; Tyler Cooper in the 153rd overall pick says they were not listening. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Kyle Williams this early at the Round 5 slot. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Connor Colby at pick No. 164 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached a country mile for Jacob Parrish at pick 166, and the board is aghast. 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 Shaun Dolac. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A big swing on Jack Kiser at the 169th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. A need, and now a little less of one.
They took RJ Harvey at par in pick No. 170, which is nothing to complain about. A need, and now a little less of one.
Oronde Gadsden II at the 171st overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Cody Simon at the Round 5 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It fills a real need, too.