B
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals turned the phones into found money: B.
by Zipper ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 34 picks
· 9 steals
· 24 reaches
When the story of this class is written, it opens with Sai'vion Jones at Round 3, Pick 23, a reach of 136 spots that the board flatly disagrees with. A dependable weekend that grades out a B.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Castro. The phones were where this weekend was really won.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
JT Tuimoloau at slot 33 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Tyleik Williams in the 51st pick is fair value, right on his grade. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Jalon Walker at pick No. 80 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Value said wait; Hollin Pierce in pick 86 says they were not listening. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Sai'vion Jones well ahead of where he belonged. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Mason Taylor is a better player than No. 107 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It fills a real need, too.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, Omarr Norman-Lott in No. 108, plain and simple. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Ahmed Hassanein in pick 109 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Kevin Winston Jr. in the 112th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Jack Bech in the 113th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Hayden Conner in slot 120 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They talked themselves into Jaeden Roberts at the Round 4 slot, and the board did not agree. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They reached a country mile for Ty Robinson at pick No. 123, and the board is aghast. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Howard Cross III at Round 4, Pick 25 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A big swing on Donovan Smith at Round 4, Pick 27, well ahead of any board in the building. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A wild overpay on Dorian Strong in the 132nd pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
The board had cheaper options than DeMonte Capehart at pick No. 139, and it noticed. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wide receiver of that caliber at pick 141 is the definition of value, full stop. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached into another round for JJ Pegues, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Antwane Wells Jr. at No. 145 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Steal is underselling it; Cam Skattebo at the Round 5 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The roster fit checks out.
Sebastian Castro at the 151st overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A conviction pick on Simeon Barrow Jr. at Round 5, Pick 20 that the board grades a round light. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for CJ West. A need, and now a little less of one.
Carson Schwesinger in pick No. 163 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Tonka Hemingway at pick 177 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It fills a real need, too.
A real head-scratcher, Seth McLaughlin in the 180th pick is miles ahead of his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Nick Nash in the Round 6 slot, miles early. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Thor Griffith this early at No. 192. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They jumped the gun on DJ Campbell, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They went early on Jonah Monheim in No. 200, and the value did not follow. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They talked themselves into Tim Smith at pick No. 205, and the board did not agree. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A wild overpay on Steven Parker in the Round 7 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jimmy Horn Jr. in Round 7, Pick 21 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.