B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 29 picks
· 16 steals
· 10 reaches
The Cardinals treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending the 162nd pick on Shaun Dolac a full 144 spots early. They moved the roster forward and banked a B+ for it.
Landing Collins that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Mike Green at pick 41 is the proof. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on JT Tuimoloau in slot 47; it is a wash and a sensible one. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A edge rusher of that caliber at pick No. 48 is the definition of value, full stop. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They will replay Tyler Warren at No. 63 for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Donovan Jackson at the 78th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
You do not let a linebacker like Demetrius Knight Jr. reach Round 3, Pick 25 and blink. They did not. A need, and now a little less of one.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland at slot 93 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They barely believed it either: Jayden Higgins still on the board at the Round 3 slot. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Will Howard at the 95th overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They took Cam Skattebo at par in the 96th pick, which is nothing to complain about. It fills a real need, too.
Dylan Fairchild at pick 97 is a conviction pick that outran the value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kyle Kennard at No. 114 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A reach for Aeneas Peebles in Round 4, Pick 25; a little patience would have been rewarded. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A real head-scratcher, Cobee Bryant in pick No. 127 is miles ahead of his ranking. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Ty Robinson. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
David Walker in the Round 4 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A tidy bit of business in the 131st pick, where Luke Kandra graded well above the range. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nick Nash at pick 132 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board had cheaper options than Bhayshul Tuten at No. 133, and it noticed. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board fumbled Denzel Burke all the way to pick No. 136, and they scooped it up. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Steal is underselling it; Lathan Ransom at Round 4, Pick 37 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A minor itch, scratched.
Alfred Collins in the 146th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Savion Williams in the 148th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Somehow Jordan Phillips was still sitting there in slot 149, and they pounced on premier interior defensive lineman value. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They robbed the room for Tory Horton here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Anthony Belton in Round 5, Pick 14 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Circle this one: Joshua Farmer at pick No. 160 is a fall that decides a draft. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Logan Brown slid further than he should have, and the Round 5 slot is lovely value for the offensive lineman. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Shaun Dolac in pick 162 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.