C-
Arizona Cardinals
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Cardinals to a C-.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 45 picks
· 24 steals
· 15 reaches
The Cardinals looked at the value chart, folded it up, and took Shaun Dolac at the 160th overall pick regardless, 155 picks early.
Bowman Jr. falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
Not a disaster, not a triumph, just a middling class.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 25th overall pick they get a run-stuffing presence up front, outstanding value to boot.
In No. 30 they get a problem off the edge at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
No edge and no loss on JT Tuimoloau in Round 2, Pick 16; it is a wash and a sensible one. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jonah Savaiinaea slid further than he should have, and slot 54 is lovely value for the offensive lineman. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Tre Harris at the Round 2 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Taking Colston Loveland in pick 78 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They let Tate Ratledge come to them and pounced at pick 85. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, Tyleik Williams in the 87th pick, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Circle this one: Harold Fannin Jr. at the Round 3 slot is a fall that decides a draft. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They did well to land Carson Schwesinger in pick No. 94, just ahead of his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Willie Lampkin. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Trey Amos at the 104th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They barely believed it either: Deone Walker still on the board at slot 106. A need, and now a little less of one.
The board fumbled Tez Johnson all the way to Round 4, Pick 13, and they scooped it up. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A quiet steal in No. 118: Will Howard for less than the market said. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Value with a capital V on Lathan Ransom in slot 120, a genuine coup. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Aeneas Peebles at the 121st pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Donovan Jackson in the 122nd overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A running back of that caliber at pick 123 is the definition of value, full stop. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
O'Donnell Fortune at Round 4, Pick 23 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Omarr Norman-Lott at the Round 4 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The roster fit checks out.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Luke Kandra at pick No. 127. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Value said wait; Cobee Bryant in the 132nd overall pick says they were not listening. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A premium they did not need to pay, Pat Bryant a notch or two before his time. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
RJ Harvey at pick 140 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Darius Alexander in pick No. 143 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached into another round for Chase Lundt, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached a country mile for Carson Vinson at No. 156, and the board is aghast. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Kyle Williams this early at slot 158. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Shaun Dolac in the 160th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It fills a real need, too.
David Bailey is a better player than Round 5, Pick 22 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jordan Phillips in the 163rd pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They read the board right and Jonah Monheim was the payoff at pick 165. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Elijah Roberts in slot 166 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Somehow Shemar Turner was still sitting there in pick No. 169, and they pounced on premier interior defensive lineman value. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Trey Zuhn III well ahead of where he belonged. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They will replay Terrance Ferguson at the Round 5 slot for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
Steal is underselling it; Kyren Lacy at No. 174 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Que Robinson at Round 6, Pick 3, and the board did not agree. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Cam Jackson at the 183rd pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. in No. 192 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Billy Bowman Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
A conviction pick on Ricky White III at slot 194 that the board grades a round light. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Tonka Hemingway in pick No. 199 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A wild overpay on Tim Smith in pick 200, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.