C
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals lost the trade table, and the C tells the story.
by stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 40 picks
· 10 steals
· 24 reaches
The Cardinals spent real capital to be 122 picks early on Shaun Dolac, and the board is going to hold them to it.
The Skattebo pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere.
It grades out a shrug today, with plenty of room to move either way.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 27 they get a problem off the edge, though the board says they badly overpaid. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Alfred Collins in the 49th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. The roster fit checks out.
They took Azareye'h Thomas at par in pick 55, which is nothing to complain about. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Nothing to complain about; Tate Ratledge went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A wild overpay on Antwaun Powell-Ryland in pick No. 90, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Rylie Mills at Round 3, Pick 36 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A conviction pick on Emery Jones Jr. at pick No. 113 that the board grades a round light. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board fumbled Elijah Arroyo all the way to No. 117, and they scooped it up. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Taking Carson Schwesinger in the 118th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Darius Alexander in the Round 4 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It fills a real need, too.
Willie Lampkin at slot 124 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Value said wait; Pat Bryant in Round 4, Pick 24 says they were not listening. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Chris Paul Jr. at pick 126 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A big swing on Vernon Broughton at the 127th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. A need, and now a little less of one.
They talked themselves into Kevin Jennings at pick 138, and the board did not agree. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They liked Nick Nash enough to skip the value, taking him in No. 141. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Kevin Winston Jr. in pick No. 149 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A minor itch, scratched.
A tidy bit of business in the 151st overall pick, where Jay Higgins graded well above the range. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jackson Slater at slot 152 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Addison West in Round 5, Pick 17 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.
They reached a country mile for Dont'e Thornton Jr. at the Round 5 slot, and the board is aghast. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A running back of that caliber at the 159th pick is the definition of value, full stop. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Steal is underselling it; Lathan Ransom at the 160th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tosh Baker in Round 5, Pick 27, miles early. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Ricky White III this early at the Round 5 slot. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Kyle Williams in pick No. 166 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Cody Simon at the 168th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jack Kiser at pick 169 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Shaun Dolac well ahead of where he belonged. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They reached into another round for CJ West, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
RJ Harvey in the 173rd pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Kaden Prather. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They robbed the room for Oronde Gadsden II here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A real head-scratcher, Ty Hamilton in pick 180 is miles ahead of his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
Tonka Hemingway at the 181st overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jonah Monheim in No. 186 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jahvaree Ritzie well ahead of where he belonged. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Value said wait; Jalen Travis in the Round 6 slot says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jackson Hawes in pick No. 192, miles early. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Theo Wease Jr. at pick 213 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.