B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 41 picks
· 8 steals
· 22 reaches
The rest of the league had time to spare on Shaun Dolac; the Cardinals did not wait, grabbing him 220 spots ahead at the 82nd overall pick. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B+.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Morrison. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 22 they get an anchor for the offensive line. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the Round 1 slot they get a bendy edge with upside, though the board says they badly overpaid. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 24th pick they get a disruptive interior force at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 25 they get a wrecking ball inside. A real need, handled.
In No. 26 they get a difference-maker at receiver, and a steal at that. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In slot 27 they get an enforcer at safety. More want than need.
In the 28th pick they get a quarterback's worst nightmare, a steep price for the projection. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the Round 1 slot they get protection for the quarterback, even if it was a touch early. The biggest hole, addressed.
No edge and no loss on Jihaad Campbell in pick No. 34; it is a wash and a sensible one. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jaxson Dart at slot 35 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Taking Tyler Warren in Round 2, Pick 4 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Maxwell Hairston at the 38th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A quiet steal in pick 39: Jalon Walker for less than the market said. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Kyle Kennard. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Demetrius Knight Jr. in the 43rd pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Somehow Matthew Golden was still sitting there in pick No. 45, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Carson Schwesinger this early at No. 47. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Good price on Jonah Savaiinaea in pick 50, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
T.J. Sanders at the 52nd overall pick is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. It fills a real need, too.
Aeneas Peebles at slot 54 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Tre Harris at Round 2, Pick 26 is the proof. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Elic Ayomanor at the Round 2 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Value said wait; Cam Skattebo in Round 2, Pick 28 says they were not listening. The roster fit checks out.
A conviction pick on Darien Porter at slot 61 that the board grades a round light. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Willie Lampkin in No. 65 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
By-the-book stuff, Jayden Higgins at the Round 3 slot squarely in line with his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A big swing on Antwaun Powell-Ryland at pick 69, well ahead of any board in the building. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Fadil Diggs at the 72nd overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached into another round for Darius Alexander, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Bhayshul Tuten well ahead of where he belonged. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tory Horton in pick 78, miles early. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A wild overpay on Shaun Dolac in the 82nd overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Benjamin Morrison at Round 3, Pick 36 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Tate Ratledge at No. 118 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A straight-up fair deal on Billy Bowman Jr. at pick No. 120, value and slot in agreement. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Nick Nash at the 121st 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.
They took Rylie Mills at par in the Round 4 slot, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A real head-scratcher, Jalen Travis in slot 135 is miles ahead of his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Barryn Sorrell in slot 137 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They talked themselves into Kyle Williams at No. 139, and the board did not agree. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board had cheaper options than RJ Harvey at pick 150, and it noticed. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.