C+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals landed square in the muddy middle: C+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 72 picks
· 19 steals
· 42 reaches
The Trey Moore pick is the one that will follow the Cardinals into the fall. They took him 140 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so. A mixed bag that lands at C+.
Neal falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. A small leak at the table, if not a fatal one.
Quarterback is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it. The Cardinals paired the rookies with proven help, Rodney McLeod leading the way.
It grades out a shrug today, with plenty of room to move either way.
Pick-by-Pick
They read the board right and Kenneth Grant was the payoff at the 33rd overall pick. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let a linebacker like Jalon Walker reach pick No. 51 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Elijah Roberts at slot 78 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Steal is underselling it; Dylan Fairchild at pick 81 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A straight-up fair deal on Tez Johnson at the Round 3 slot, value and slot in agreement. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Billy Bowman Jr. in the 113th pick is fair value, right on his grade. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Hollin Pierce at Round 4, Pick 16 is money in the bank, a offensive lineman taken below his worth. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value with a capital V on Luke Kandra in pick No. 119, a genuine coup. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Emery Jones Jr. well ahead of where he belonged. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A clean, defensible pick in the 121st pick with a little surplus value in Daylen Everette. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Value said wait; DeMonte Capehart in No. 122 says they were not listening. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Trey Moore this early at the Round 4 slot. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Savion Williams at pick 125 is the proof. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Ty Robinson at slot 126, and the board did not agree. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Carson Schwesinger. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for JJ Pegues. It fills a real need, too.
A wild overpay on Donovan Smith in pick 133, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They paid up for Hayden Conner at No. 136 when waiting would have done the job. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Barrett Carter at pick No. 138 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They robbed the room for Sebastian Castro here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Mason Taylor at slot 140 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached into another round for Simeon Barrow Jr., and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A need, and now a little less of one.
A reach for Chase Lundt in No. 148; a little patience would have been rewarded. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Dorian Strong in pick No. 149 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Tonka Hemingway at the 151st overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Ty Hamilton in the Round 5 slot, miles early. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Jaeden Roberts in Round 5, Pick 17 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They will replay Tory Horton at slot 156 for years; that is how good the value is. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Taking Kyren Lacy in pick 157 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A conviction pick on Connor Colby at the 159th pick that the board grades a round light. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They reached a country mile for Antwane Wells Jr. at Round 5, Pick 23, and the board is aghast. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A real head-scratcher, Ricky White III in the 161st overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jonah Monheim in slot 162 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Jeffrey Bassa in pick 163, plain and simple. The roster fit checks out.
No drama and no debate, Joshua Gray went about where he belonged in pick No. 164. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jahvaree Ritzie at the 165th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board had cheaper options than Elijah Arroyo at No. 166, and it noticed. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Seth McLaughlin in the Round 5 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kevin Winston Jr. in No. 168 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Circle this one: Cam Skattebo at pick 170 is a fall that decides a draft. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Phillip Webb at the 173rd pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A big swing on Nick Nash at pick No. 174, well ahead of any board in the building. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Anthony Belton well ahead of where he belonged. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They left a pile of value on the table to take DJ Campbell this early at the Round 6 slot. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A linebacker of that caliber at slot 181 is the definition of value, full stop. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
O'Donnell Fortune in the 183rd overall pick 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.
A big swing on Quinn Carroll at the 186th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They reached into another round for Garrett Dellinger, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Value said wait; Xavier Truss in slot 189 says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A real head-scratcher, Thor Griffith in Round 6, Pick 16 is miles ahead of his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
They took Jamon Dumas-Johnson at par in pick No. 194, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Shaun Dolac at No. 195 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jason Henderson in pick 196 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
By-the-book stuff, Ja'Corey Brooks at the Round 6 slot squarely in line with his ranking. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Devin Neal in the 198th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Jamaree Caldwell at No. 200 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It fills a real need, too.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Tim Smith. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They talked themselves into J.J. Weaver at the 205th overall pick, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jay Toia at pick No. 209 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached a country mile for Omari Thomas at the Round 6 slot, and the board is aghast. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Cooper Mays in pick 214, miles early. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A wild overpay on Tyler Cooper in Round 7, Pick 7, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Javontez Spraggins at No. 224 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They talked themselves into Paris Shand at pick No. 225, and the board did not agree. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Kobe Hudson in slot 228 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: Theo Wease Jr. still on the board at the Round 7 slot. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Roc Taylor at the 234th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Kaden Prather at the 235th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
No edge and no loss on Xzavier Henderson in Round 7, Pick 21; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jake Briningstool at pick 241 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A big swing on Justin Walley at Round 7, Pick 32, well ahead of any board in the building. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A wild overpay on R.J. Oben in the 256th pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.