B
Arizona Cardinals
A solid, sensible weekend for the Cardinals: B.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 24 picks
· 15 steals
· 7 reaches
Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Cardinals spent Round 7, Pick 12 on Tim Smith, a name the board had a full 73 spots lower. More right than wrong, and a B to match.
The Walker pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. The Cardinals clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before. They went 8 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 28 they get a problem off the edge at a price that makes it sweeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They barely believed it either: Walter Nolen still on the board at No. 51. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Shemar Stewart at Round 2, Pick 23 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Alfred Collins in the 56th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Tyler Booker at the Round 3 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Taking Jalon Walker in the 90th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Nothing to complain about; Denzel Burke went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
The board had cheaper options than Jack Nelson at the 113th pick, and it noticed. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Circle this one: Elijah Arroyo at Round 4, Pick 21 is a fall that decides a draft. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They robbed the room for Tez Johnson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Carson Schwesinger at pick No. 131 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let a running back like Cam Skattebo reach the 138th overall pick and blink. They did not. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Steal is underselling it; Billy Bowman Jr. at pick 149 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
O'Donnell Fortune in the Round 5 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Lathan Ransom in pick 154 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Value said wait; Jonah Monheim in pick No. 158 says they were not listening. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Somehow Jeffrey Bassa was still sitting there in the 159th overall pick, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. It fills a real need, too.
A quiet steal in No. 194: JJ Pegues for less than the market said. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They reached a country mile for Seth McLaughlin at Round 6, Pick 21, and the board is aghast. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Jaylen Reed in the Round 6 slot, plain and simple. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Jackson Hawes in slot 218 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A big swing on Jamaree Caldwell at the 225th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Tim Smith in the 228th pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
KJ Jefferson at No. 237 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.