D-
Arizona Cardinals
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Cardinals to a D-.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 55 picks
· 20 steals
· 23 reaches
Some picks age like wine; Shaun Dolac at pick 147 will need to, sitting 155 spots clear of his grade. The board pushed back all weekend, and the D- is the result.
Ewers falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. The hoard sets up next April more than it helps this September.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
Wyatt Milum in the 35th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They liked JT Tuimoloau enough to skip the value, taking him in the Round 2 slot. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They let T.J. Sanders come to them and pounced at slot 51. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A reach on Tate Ratledge in pick 58; the board had better options right there. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Demetrius Knight Jr. at the 66th overall pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the linebacker. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
No drama and no debate, Maxwell Hairston went about where he belonged in No. 78. A minor itch, scratched.
By-the-book stuff, Jordan Burch at the 97th pick squarely in line with his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
No edge and no loss on Will Howard in slot 102; it is a wash and a sensible one. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Harold Fannin Jr. at the 104th overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A quiet steal in pick No. 108: Savion Williams for less than the market said. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Ty Robinson in Round 4, Pick 13 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They barely believed it either: Marcus Mbow still on the board at No. 121. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Cam Skattebo at the Round 4 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A need, and now a little less of one.
Pat Bryant at pick 126 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Billy Bowman Jr. in pick 127. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A straight-up fair deal on Darius Alexander at No. 129, value and slot in agreement. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A wild overpay on Jabbar Muhammad in pick No. 132, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
You do not let an edge rusher like Ashton Gillotte reach the 133rd overall pick and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They will replay Denzel Burke at the 134th pick for years; that is how good the value is. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A tidy bit of business in the Round 4 slot, where Shemar Turner graded well above the range. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jared Wilson in Round 4, Pick 37 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A real head-scratcher, Kyle Williams in slot 139 is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Somehow Ajani Cornelius was still sitting there in No. 140, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Chase Lundt at the 141st overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
David Walker at the Round 5 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value said wait; Shaun Dolac in the 147th pick says they were not listening. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Joshua Farmer in Round 5, Pick 9 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It fills a real need, too.
They jumped the gun on Bhayshul Tuten, taking him earlier than his grade liked. The roster fit checks out.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Tory Horton in pick No. 153, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Rylie Mills at slot 154 is the proof. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for CJ West. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at the 156th pick is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Steal is underselling it; Kevin Winston Jr. at the Round 5 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Oluwafemi Oladejo this early at the 158th overall pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Cam Jackson in No. 159 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached a country mile for Cam Horsley at pick 160, and the board is aghast. It fills a real need, too.
The board fumbled Emery Jones Jr. all the way to slot 161, and they scooped it up. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Taking Jack Nelson in Round 5, Pick 23 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Vernon Broughton in Round 5, Pick 25 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Ricky White III well ahead of where he belonged. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
RJ Harvey in the Round 5 slot is fair value, right on his grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid sticker price for Tyler Cooper in slot 167, and that is fine. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Elijah Roberts at the 168th overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A reach for Connor Colby in No. 169; a little patience would have been rewarded. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They robbed the room for O'Donnell Fortune here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Miles Frazier in pick No. 172, miles early. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached into another round for Jonas Sanker, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Cobee Bryant at Round 5, Pick 36 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
They took JJ Pegues at par in pick No. 176, which is nothing to complain about. The roster fit checks out.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Dont'e Thornton Jr.. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: Quinn Ewers at No. 178 is a fall that decides a draft. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They talked themselves into Que Robinson at slot 179, and the board did not agree. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jalen Travis at the 181st overall pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A big swing on Tonka Hemingway at pick 182, well ahead of any board in the building. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Quinn Carroll this early at the 183rd pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.