A-
Arizona Cardinals
Nobody dealt better than the Cardinals this weekend: A-.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 66 picks
· 20 steals
· 34 reaches
The Cardinals put a flag in the ground for Tyreak Sapp, 145 picks before anyone else would have, and the value took the hit.
That Taylor pick is the receipt they will wave around later. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
It is a haul that will look even better come September.
Pick-by-Pick
Abdul Carter at pick No. 5 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Mason Graham at the 16th pick is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. It fills a real need, too.
In the Round 1 slot they get juice off the edge, even if it was a touch early. The biggest hole, addressed.
No drama and no debate, Landon Jackson went about where he belonged in pick 22. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
In slot 24 they get a long-term starter on the line at a price that makes it sweeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Jack Sawyer at Round 2, Pick 2. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Value with a capital V on Jalon Walker in the 36th pick, a genuine coup. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A big swing on Donovan Ezeiruaku at the Round 2 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A reach on Zy Alexander in pick 49; the board had better options right there. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They let Tyler Warren come to them and pounced at pick No. 51. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They took Dylan Fairchild at par in Round 2, Pick 24, which is nothing to complain about. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A clean, defensible pick in the 58th overall pick with a little surplus value in Tyleik Williams. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They paid sticker price for Armand Membou in No. 62, and that is fine. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They barely believed it either: Jihaad Campbell still on the board at slot 67. A need, and now a little less of one.
They went early on Darien Porter in the Round 3 slot, and the value did not follow. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
They liked Tez Johnson enough to skip the value, taking him in Round 3, Pick 12. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A wild overpay on Antwaun Powell-Ryland in pick 78, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Omarr Norman-Lott at No. 80 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the interior defensive lineman. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They reached a country mile for Cam Skattebo at pick No. 85, and the board is aghast. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They jumped the gun on Luke Kandra, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A conviction pick on Savion Williams at the 94th overall pick that the board grades a round light. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Value said wait; Rylie Mills in slot 97 says they were not listening. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
You do not let a safety like Nick Emmanwori reach the Round 3 slot and blink. They did not. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Kyren Lacy in slot 103 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Good price on Azareye'h Thomas in the 105th pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for David Walker. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tyreak Sapp in the 120th overall pick, miles early. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Vernon Broughton at No. 121 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board had cheaper options than Kurtis Rourke at pick 124, and it noticed. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Carson Schwesinger in pick No. 126 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They talked themselves into Ty Robinson at pick 128, and the board did not agree. The roster fit checks out.
Jaeden Roberts at No. 138 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They left a pile of value on the table to take JJ Pegues this early at the Round 5 slot. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A real head-scratcher, Connor Colby in pick No. 141 is miles ahead of his ranking. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Que Robinson at Round 5, Pick 5 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 top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Elic Ayomanor in slot 148, plain and simple. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Seth McLaughlin well ahead of where he belonged. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jonah Monheim at the 151st pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
DeMonte Capehart at the 160th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The roster fit checks out.
Tommi Hill in the 161st overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
A quiet steal in the Round 5 slot: Howard Cross III for less than the market said. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Willie Lampkin. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Nick Nash in Round 5, Pick 30 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Nazir Stackhouse in pick 168 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A need, and now a little less of one.
Circle this one: Danny Stutsman at pick No. 169 is a fall that decides a draft. It fills a real need, too.
Theo Wease Jr. in No. 170 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They will replay Smael Mondon Jr. at Round 5, Pick 36 for years; that is how good the value is. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Nice patience on Simeon Barrow Jr., who had no business lasting to the Round 6 slot. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A straight-up fair deal on Addison West at the 177th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Fair-plus on Cobee Bryant, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Billy Bowman Jr. at pick 179 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Ty Hamilton at pick No. 180 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Ja'Corey Brooks in No. 186 is fair value, right on his grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Somehow Brashard Smith was still sitting there in the 189th pick, and they pounced on premier running back value. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They reached into another round for Tonka Hemingway, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They robbed the room for Chris Paul Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A premium they did not need to pay, DJ Campbell a notch or two before his time. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Garrett Dellinger in the Round 6 slot, miles early. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R.J. Oben at Round 6, Pick 34 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value said wait; Jamaree Caldwell in No. 214 says they were not listening. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Mason Taylor in pick 215 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It fills a real need, too.
Jack Kiser at slot 221 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The roster fit checks out.
They reached a country mile for Phillip Webb at the 223rd overall pick, and the board is aghast. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Cooper Mays well ahead of where he belonged. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A big swing on Tyler Cooper at the Round 7 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Kaden Prather in the 256th pick is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.