A-
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals fleeced the room on the phones and earned a A-.
by Zipper ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 54 picks
· 18 steals
· 27 reaches
It is the swing that defines the weekend: Sai'vion Jones in pick 101, a good 114 spots before the room expected him.
That Higgins pick is the receipt they will wave around later. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
In the end it comes back to Mason Graham, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 14th overall pick they get a premier pass rusher at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the 16th pick they get a load in the middle, outstanding value to boot. A real need, handled.
In Round 1, Pick 17 they get an anchor for the offensive line, though the board says they badly overpaid. The biggest hole, addressed.
They liked Benjamin Morrison enough to skip the value, taking him in the Round 2 slot. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Nice patience on Jalon Walker, who had no business lasting to slot 35. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Tyler Warren in No. 44 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Emeka Egbuka at the 45th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Donovan Ezeiruaku in the Round 2 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Circle this one: Malaki Starks at pick No. 50 is a fall that decides a draft. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Nothing to complain about; Dylan Fairchild went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board had cheaper options than Aeneas Peebles at No. 67, and it noticed. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Value said wait; Luke Kandra in the 68th overall pick says they were not listening. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland at pick 73 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Tez Johnson at Round 3, Pick 12 is a conviction pick that outran the value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Omarr Norman-Lott in the Round 3 slot is fair value, right on his grade. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jayden Higgins in No. 80 lands just on the right side of the ledger. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Barrett Carter is a better player than pick No. 89 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Tai Felton in slot 94. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Sai'vion Jones at Round 3, Pick 37 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A tidy bit of business in the 102nd pick, where Jack Bech graded well above the range. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A reach for Jack Nelson in pick 105; a little patience would have been rewarded. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They barely believed it either: Jake Majors still on the board at the 113th overall pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A wild overpay on Jaeden Roberts in the 118th overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Elic Ayomanor in No. 120 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Brady Cook at the 124th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value with a capital V on Cam Skattebo in pick 126, a genuine coup. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Carson Schwesinger at slot 136 is money in the bank, a linebacker taken below his worth. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Taking Danny Stutsman in Round 5, Pick 3 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. The roster fit checks out.
Lathan Ransom at the Round 5 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They reached a country mile for Willie Lampkin at pick No. 142, and the board is aghast. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Howard Cross III at pick No. 151 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They talked themselves into Seth McLaughlin at No. 160, and the board did not agree. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jonah Monheim in Round 5, Pick 26, miles early. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A conviction pick on Nazir Stackhouse at slot 164 that the board grades a round light. A need, and now a little less of one.
They reached into another round for Nick Nash, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A big swing on CJ West at the 167th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. It fills a real need, too.
Thor Griffith at the 171st pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Miles Frazier this early at the Round 6 slot. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
You do not let a safety like Billy Bowman Jr. reach the 177th pick and blink. They did not. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Steal is underselling it; Smael Mondon Jr. at pick No. 180 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
They took Ja'Corey Brooks at par in the 190th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Davison Igbinosun well ahead of where he belonged. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
They paid up for Clay Webb at Round 6, Pick 23 when waiting would have done the job. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jahvaree Ritzie in the Round 6 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Somehow Jay Higgins was still sitting there in No. 212, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. It fills a real need, too.
Jack Kiser at pick 214 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They paid sticker price for Quincy Riley in the 215th overall pick, and that is fine. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They robbed the room for Jordan Hancock here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A premium they did not need to pay, Kaden Prather a notch or two before his time. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Garrett Dellinger. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They will replay Terrance Ferguson at the 234th pick for years; that is how good the value is. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A real head-scratcher, Tyler Cooper in pick No. 239 is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into R.J. Oben at slot 241, and the board did not agree. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jamaree Caldwell at Round 7, Pick 40 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.