B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals turned the phones into found money: B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
There is reaching, and then there is Donovan Smith at Round 4, Pick 16. The Cardinals jumped the board by 96 and dared it to prove them wrong. It does the job without flash, and the B+ reflects it.
That Campbell pick is the receipt they will wave around later. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. For all the activity, running back went untouched, which is hard to explain.
Quarterback was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 25th overall pick they get a quarterback's worst nightmare. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A tidy bit of business in the Round 2 slot, where Tyler Booker graded well above the range. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Deone Walker at slot 63 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Steal is underselling it; Jihaad Campbell at the 78th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jermari Harris at No. 81 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A straight-up fair deal on Tez Johnson at pick No. 89, value and slot in agreement. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Ozzy Trapilo in pick No. 95 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They let Luke Kandra come to them and pounced at No. 115. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Value said wait; Donovan Smith in the 117th overall pick says they were not listening. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Vernon Broughton well ahead of where he belonged. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
You do not let a linebacker like Carson Schwesinger reach the 151st pick and blink. They did not. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
No drama and no debate, Jake Briningstool went about where he belonged in pick 213. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.