B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 53 picks
· 13 steals
· 29 reaches
The Shaun Dolac pick is the one that will follow the Cardinals into the fall. They took him 226 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so.
The Sampson steal is the beam this whole class leans on. The phones were where this weekend was really won.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 23 they get a problem off the edge. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 24th overall pick they get a premier pass rusher, a steep price for the projection. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the 25th pick they get juice off the edge, though the board says they badly overpaid. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick No. 26 they get an island corner, and a steal at that. Need was not the driver here.
In Round 1, Pick 27 they get a run-stuffing presence up front at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a matchup weapon at tight end at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
They let Nick Emmanwori come to them and pounced at Round 2, Pick 1. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
No edge and no loss on Josh Conerly Jr. in pick 34; it is a wash and a sensible one. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They read the board right and Emeka Egbuka was the payoff at the 38th pick. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tyler Booker. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jihaad Campbell in the 42nd overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It fills a real need, too.
A tidy bit of business in the Round 2 slot, where Derrick Harmon graded well above the range. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Tre Harris at slot 44 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A straight-up fair deal on Jonah Savaiinaea at No. 45, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Marcus Mbow at pick No. 46 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Fair-plus on T.J. Sanders, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. The roster fit checks out.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Ozzy Trapilo in No. 49, miles early. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No drama and no debate, Alfred Collins went about where he belonged in pick 51. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A reach for Deone Walker in Round 2, Pick 22; a little patience would have been rewarded. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Will Howard at the 56th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They reached a country mile for Carson Schwesinger at slot 57, and the board is aghast. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A real head-scratcher, Tez Johnson in the Round 2 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Antwaun Powell-Ryland. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board had cheaper options than Tate Ratledge at the Round 2 slot, and it noticed. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cam Skattebo at slot 63 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Anthony Belton in the 65th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A wild overpay on Shaun Dolac in Round 3, Pick 2, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A quiet steal in No. 70: Isaiah Bond for less than the market said. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A big swing on Jordan Burch at the 78th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Somehow Xavier Watts was still sitting there in pick 88, and they pounced on premier safety value. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They talked themselves into Logan Brown at the 92nd overall pick, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Earnest Greene III at pick No. 95 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A tight end of that caliber at the Round 4 slot is the definition of value, full stop. A need, and now a little less of one.
Rylie Mills in Round 4, Pick 9 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Value said wait; Willie Lampkin in pick 112 says they were not listening. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Elijah Roberts at No. 114 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached into another round for Trey Zuhn III, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jalen Travis well ahead of where he belonged. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Carson Vinson this early at the Round 4 slot. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Miles Frazier at pick 123 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jake Briningstool at slot 124 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
You do not let a wide receiver like Jaylin Noel reach Round 4, Pick 28 and blink. They did not. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They will replay Malachi Moore at pick No. 141 for years; that is how good the value is. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Value said wait; Jacob Parrish in No. 143 says they were not listening. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
A real head-scratcher, Tosh Baker in the 146th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jackson Slater in the 149th pick is fair value, right on his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
RJ Harvey at slot 150 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached a country mile for Phillip Webb at the Round 5 slot, and the board is aghast. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Dylan Sampson in pick No. 169 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Nick Nash at Round 5, Pick 31 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Tonka Hemingway at pick 174, and the board did not agree. The roster fit checks out.
Kyle Williams in the 189th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Taking Jack Kiser in No. 249 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.