C+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals landed square in the muddy middle: C+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 35 picks
· 16 steals
· 14 reaches
The Cardinals did not so much draft Shaun Dolac as overpay for him, 139 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. It washes out to a C+, no better and no worse.
The Warren pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. They gave back a little on the phones for the right to move.
Quarterback is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it. The trenches got the money picks, top to bottom.
So much rides on Derrick Harmon that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
Fair-plus on Derrick Harmon, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. The roster fit checks out.
They paid a round early for JT Tuimoloau in No. 35, more than the board wanted. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Donovan Ezeiruaku in pick No. 47 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Cameron Williams at slot 55. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They will replay Demetrius Knight Jr. at the 78th pick for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Luther Burden III at Round 3, Pick 17 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Carson Schwesinger at pick 82 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland in the 83rd overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Tyler Warren in Round 3, Pick 29 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jermari Harris at No. 104 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A minor itch, scratched.
A tidy bit of business in the 112th pick, where Charles Grant graded well above the range. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They robbed the room for Deone Walker here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Will Howard in the Round 4 slot. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Rylie Mills at pick No. 122 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Willie Lampkin at pick No. 123 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Taking Cam Skattebo in slot 126 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A need, and now a little less of one.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Jaylin Noel in the Round 4 slot, plain and simple. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Somehow Jared Wilson was still sitting there in pick 129, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They barely believed it either: Tez Johnson still on the board at No. 132. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Tory Horton in Round 4, Pick 35 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Lathan Ransom in the 137th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They reached a country mile for Bhayshul Tuten at the 138th pick, and the board is aghast. It fills a real need, too.
Billy Bowman Jr. at the Round 4 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They read the board right and Darius Alexander was the payoff at Round 5, Pick 1. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A wild overpay on Ty Robinson in the 141st pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Value said wait; Oluwafemi Oladejo in No. 142 says they were not listening. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Cobee Bryant at slot 147 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Nick Nash at the 148th overall pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Kaimon Rucker in pick No. 153 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Joshua Farmer reach pick 155 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Ricky White III in slot 161, miles early. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Cam Jackson. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A big swing on Shaun Dolac at the Round 5 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Connor Colby at Round 5, Pick 28 is a conviction pick that outran the value. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jabbar Muhammad at pick No. 168 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.