C-
Arizona Cardinals
The phones sank the Cardinals this weekend: C-.
by X ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 28 picks
· 8 steals
· 19 reaches
It is the swing that defines the weekend: Tyreak Sapp in the Round 4 slot, a good 134 spots before the room expected him. It nets out a thoroughly average C-.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Schwesinger. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. The Junior Colson pickup adds a known quantity to a class of unknowns.
If Shemar Stewart and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 30 they get a quarterback's worst nightmare, a steep price for the projection. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A tidy bit of business in No. 49, where Tyler Booker graded well above the range. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value said wait; Donovan Ezeiruaku in the Round 2 slot says they were not listening. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Deone Walker in Round 3, Pick 15 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It fills a real need, too.
They paid a round early for Tez Johnson in pick 81, more than the board wanted. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They went early on Maxwell Hairston in the 87th pick, and the value did not follow. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Luke Kandra at the 113th overall pick 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.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jaeden Roberts. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Ty Robinson at the 123rd pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Taking Cam Skattebo in the Round 4 slot is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They reached into another round for Tyreak Sapp, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The board fumbled Mason Taylor all the way to Round 4, Pick 35, and they scooped it up. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Miles Frazier in slot 151 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
JJ Pegues at No. 152 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The roster fit checks out.
They will replay Carson Schwesinger at No. 183 for years; that is how good the value is. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jonah Monheim at Round 6, Pick 14 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Seth McLaughlin in the 191st overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A big swing on Nick Nash at the Round 6 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Nick Nash at pick No. 196 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Xavier Truss in slot 203 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Thor Griffith in the 210th pick, miles early. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
No edge and no loss on Roc Taylor in pick 224; it is a wash and a sensible one. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A real head-scratcher, Garrett Dellinger in slot 231 is miles ahead of his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Jack Kiser in No. 236, plain and simple. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They talked themselves into Max Brosmer at the Round 7 slot, and the board did not agree. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Somehow Jake Briningstool was still sitting there in the 247th overall pick, and they pounced on premier tight end value. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A wild overpay on R.J. Oben in the 250th pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A conviction pick on Cooper Mays at pick 252 that the board grades a round light. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.