B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 36 picks
· 13 steals
· 19 reaches
The Cardinals treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending Round 4, Pick 38 on Shaun Dolac a full 153 spots early.
On value alone, Walker makes the weekend a net positive. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. The Cardinals clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 23 they get a problem off the edge, a steep price for the projection. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Donovan Ezeiruaku. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Walter Nolen at No. 30 is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Tyler Warren at slot 33 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jonah Savaiinaea in the 34th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Tyler Booker in the 39th pick is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Fair-plus on Jihaad Campbell, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Malaki Starks in slot 46 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A premium they did not need to pay, Deone Walker a notch or two before his time. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A wild overpay on Ozzy Trapilo in Round 2, Pick 25, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They paid a round early for Tate Ratledge in pick 62, more than the board wanted. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland at the 64th overall pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Denzel Burke in pick No. 78 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A minor need, but a need all the same.
You do not let a linebacker like Jalon Walker reach the 80th pick and blink. They did not. A need, and now a little less of one.
They reached a country mile for David Bailey at the 81st overall pick, and the board is aghast. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jack Bech at No. 86 is the proof. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tez Johnson. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at slot 104 is the definition of value, full stop. The roster fit checks out.
Elijah Arroyo in Round 4, Pick 7 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Carson Schwesinger in pick 109, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
Logan Brown in the 110th pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They talked themselves into Rylie Mills at the Round 4 slot, and the board did not agree. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jaylin Noel in the Round 4 slot is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Kurtis Rourke at the 118th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Ty Robinson at pick No. 122 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Somehow Tai Felton was still sitting there in slot 124, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A big swing on Nick Nash at Round 4, Pick 30, well ahead of any board in the building. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board fumbled Cam Skattebo all the way to the 138th pick, and they scooped it up. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Shaun Dolac at pick 139 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Chase Lundt this early at No. 141. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Willie Lampkin well ahead of where he belonged. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jabbar Muhammad at Round 5, Pick 8 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
They reached into another round for Kyle Williams, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reach on RJ Harvey in No. 153; the board had better options right there. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A tidy bit of business in slot 154, where Oronde Gadsden II graded well above the range. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jack Kiser at the 228th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The roster fit checks out.