C+
Arizona Cardinals
Flashes of a plan, unevenly executed. Cardinals: C+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 65 picks
· 28 steals
· 32 reaches
The Cardinals went off the board in a big way for Tim Smith, 161 picks early. Conviction is one thing; this is another. The final tally is a middling C+.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Higgins. The roster is better shaped than it was, with quarterback chief among the fixes.
If Mike Green and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 31 they get a double-digit-sack hope. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 37 with a little surplus value in Jack Sawyer. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached into another round for Donovan Ezeiruaku, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Taking Armand Membou in the 52nd overall pick is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Nice patience on T.J. Sanders, who had no business lasting to pick 53. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
JT Tuimoloau at the 78th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Alfred Collins at pick No. 81 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A need, and now a little less of one.
Steal is underselling it; Azareye'h Thomas at pick 85 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Tate Ratledge reach the Round 3 slot and blink. They did not. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Demetrius Knight Jr. at slot 99 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Deone Walker in Round 4, Pick 11 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They barely believed it either: Isaiah Bond still on the board at No. 114. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board fumbled Tez Johnson all the way to the 119th overall pick, and they scooped it up. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Kyle McCord at par in the 120th pick, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Shemar Turner at the 121st overall pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They went early on Darius Alexander in pick No. 122, and the value did not follow. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Rylie Mills in No. 123, miles early. The roster fit checks out.
They will replay Jordan Burch at pick 124 for years; that is how good the value is. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Cody Simon at slot 125 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Somehow Ozzy Trapilo was still sitting there in the Round 4 slot, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They robbed the room for Elijah Arroyo here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Brashard Smith at the 129th pick. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Raheim Sanders in pick No. 131, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It fills a real need, too.
Bhayshul Tuten at pick 132 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jayden Higgins in Round 4, Pick 34 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jabbar Muhammad at the Round 4 slot jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Value said wait; Cobee Bryant in the 137th overall pick says they were not listening. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Lathan Ransom in No. 138, plain and simple. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Willie Lampkin this early at slot 139. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A cornerback of that caliber at the 140th pick is the definition of value, full stop. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Circle this one: Dylan Fairchild at the Round 5 slot is a fall that decides a draft. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Chase Lundt in slot 147 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jaylin Noel in Round 5, Pick 9 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Trevor Etienne at the 150th overall pick, and the board did not agree. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Steal is underselling it; Tai Felton at the 151st pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Joshua Farmer at pick No. 153 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Sai'vion Jones at pick 155 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board had cheaper options than David Walker at No. 156, and it noticed. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Hollin Pierce at pick 158 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Nick Nash at No. 160 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Circle this one: Terrance Ferguson at the 161st overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. The roster fit checks out.
Cam Jackson at slot 162 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It fills a real need, too.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jonah Monheim at pick No. 163 is the proof. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached a country mile for Connor Colby at the Round 5 slot, and the board is aghast. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Carson Vinson at Round 5, Pick 26 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board fumbled Kyren Lacy all the way to the 167th pick, and they scooped it up. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Pat Bryant in Round 5, Pick 29 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Addison West in No. 169 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Taking Anthony Belton in the 170th overall pick is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They let Logan Brown come to them and pounced at pick 172. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Trey Zuhn III at pick No. 174 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A big swing on Ahmed Hassanein at slot 175, well ahead of any board in the building. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A real head-scratcher, Tonka Hemingway in the Round 5 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Que Robinson. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Shaun Dolac well ahead of where he belonged. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jack Kiser in No. 180 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A big swing on Jalen Travis at the Round 6 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Miles Frazier at pick No. 183 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tosh Baker in slot 184, miles early. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jonas Sanker at pick 185 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Jacob Parrish at the 187th pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
A wild overpay on Davin Vann in Round 6, Pick 11, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tim Smith this early at pick 192. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A reach for Kyle Williams in the Round 6 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Shilo Sanders in pick No. 200 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.