C
Arizona Cardinals
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Cardinals to a C.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 39 picks
· 12 steals
· 23 reaches
They will call it conviction in the building and a reach everywhere else: Shaun Dolac, 166 picks early at No. 153. The final tally is a middling C.
On value alone, Schwesinger makes the weekend a net positive. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. Job largely done: quarterback settled and 8 of 8 of the wish list covered.
In the end, a coin-flip class: fine today, with a wide range of outcomes ahead.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 29th overall pick they get juice off the edge, a steep price for the projection. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They paid a round early for Alfred Collins in pick 45, more than the board wanted. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They talked themselves into Maxwell Hairston at No. 47, and the board did not agree. A minor itch, scratched.
A wild overpay on Antwaun Powell-Ryland in Round 3, Pick 14, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Tate Ratledge in the Round 3 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Hollin Pierce well ahead of where he belonged. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Tez Johnson at par in the Round 3 slot, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Will Howard in the 92nd pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Andrew Mukuba in the 94th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They barely believed it either: Demetrius Knight Jr. still on the board at pick No. 101. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A quiet steal in Round 4, Pick 13: Jaylin Noel for less than the market said. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Somehow Elijah Arroyo was still sitting there in No. 118, and they pounced on premier tight end value. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Steal is underselling it; Dylan Fairchild at slot 123 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Earnest Greene III at pick 124 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Willie Lampkin in pick 126, miles early. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A premium they did not need to pay, Rylie Mills a notch or two before his time. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reach on Mello Dotson in the 128th overall pick; the board had better options right there. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
You do not let a linebacker like Carson Schwesinger reach No. 133 and blink. They did not. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They paid up for Pat Bryant at the Round 4 slot when waiting would have done the job. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Value said wait; Ty Robinson in slot 139 says they were not listening. A need, and now a little less of one.
Cam Skattebo in Round 5, Pick 1 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. The roster fit checks out.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Kyren Lacy at the 141st pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached a country mile for Trey Zuhn III at pick No. 147, and the board is aghast. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Cobee Bryant at the 148th overall pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Cody Simon at pick 150 is money in the bank, a linebacker taken below his worth. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Shaun Dolac at slot 153 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A tight end of that caliber at the 160th pick is the definition of value, full stop. It fills a real need, too.
Shemar Turner at Round 5, Pick 22 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A clean, defensible pick in the Round 5 slot with a little surplus value in Raheim Sanders. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They reached into another round for Ricky White III, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
No drama and no debate, RJ Harvey went about where he belonged in pick No. 165. It fills a real need, too.
Oronde Gadsden II at the 166th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jacob Parrish in No. 167 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jonas Sanker this early at the 169th overall pick. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Miles Frazier. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A real head-scratcher, Tosh Baker in the Round 5 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jalen Travis at Round 5, Pick 35 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A big swing on Garrett Dellinger at pick 176, well ahead of any board in the building. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into Kyle Williams at No. 185, and the board did not agree. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.