C-
Arizona Cardinals
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Cardinals to a C-.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 44 picks
· 16 steals
· 20 reaches
It is the swing that defines the weekend: Shaun Dolac in slot 179, a good 113 spots before the room expected him. The good and the questionable cancel out to a C-.
The Knight Jr. pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back.
The verdict is a shrug for now, with the swing picks left to write the real ending.
Pick-by-Pick
Donovan Ezeiruaku at the Round 2 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
By-the-book stuff, T.J. Sanders at pick 41 squarely in line with his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They will replay Kenneth Grant at No. 47 for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let a linebacker like Jihaad Campbell reach the 62nd pick and blink. They did not. It fills a real need, too.
Donovan Jackson at the 72nd overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They robbed the room for Zy Alexander here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A tidy little value on Omarr Norman-Lott in No. 81, a step better than break-even. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Elijah Arroyo in slot 85. A need, and now a little less of one.
They paid sticker price for Ozzy Trapilo in the 87th pick, and that is fine. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Aeneas Peebles at the 90th overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They took Dylan Fairchild at par in Round 3, Pick 32, which is nothing to complain about. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Tez Johnson at pick 97 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jaylin Noel at the Round 4 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Carson Schwesinger in pick No. 117 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jackson Slater in the Round 4 slot, miles early. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Andrew Mukuba at the 123rd pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Somehow Chris Paul Jr. was still sitting there in the 124th overall pick, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Pat Bryant at No. 125 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Vernon Broughton at slot 126 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They talked themselves into Chase Lundt at pick 131, and the board did not agree. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Howard Cross III well ahead of where he belonged. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Kevin Jennings. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid a round early for Nick Nash in slot 143, more than the board wanted. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board fumbled Cam Skattebo all the way to No. 145, and they scooped it up. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Ty Robinson in the Round 5 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.
A wild overpay on Willie Lampkin in pick 151, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Taking Demetrius Knight Jr. in the 157th pick is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A real head-scratcher, Dont'e Thornton Jr. in pick No. 161 is miles ahead of his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jay Higgins at the 162nd overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Jalen Travis in Round 5, Pick 26 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value said wait; Ricky White III in Round 5, Pick 27 says they were not listening. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They reached a country mile for Kyle Williams at pick No. 165, and the board is aghast. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Malachi Moore in the 166th pick, plain and simple. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A big swing on Jacob Parrish at the 168th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Jonah Monheim in pick 170 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Tyler Cooper in the Round 5 slot is fair value, right on his grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Cody Simon at slot 177 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They reached into another round for Shaun Dolac, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Circle this one: Oronde Gadsden II at the Round 6 slot is a fall that decides a draft. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tonka Hemingway this early at slot 186. It fills a real need, too.
Jack Kiser in pick 188 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
RJ Harvey in pick No. 190 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They barely believed it either: Lathan Ransom still on the board at the 194th overall pick. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
The board had cheaper options than Jonas Sanker at Round 6, Pick 21, and it noticed. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.