D+
Arizona Cardinals
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Cardinals and Smith: D+.
by z ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 61 picks
· 20 steals
· 26 reaches
It is the swing that defines the weekend: Brady Cook in pick No. 145, a good 92 spots before the room expected him.
That is a running back worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. The veteran additions, Rashawn Slater chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
They left with quarterback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
Jalon Walker at Round 2, Pick 18 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Donovan Ezeiruaku well ahead of where he belonged. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Tyler Warren at the Round 2 slot is money in the bank, a tight end taken below his worth. It fills a real need, too.
Tyleik Williams at No. 59 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They did well to land Dylan Fairchild in Round 2, Pick 28, just ahead of his grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They paid sticker price for Denzel Burke in the 61st pick, and that is fine. It adds depth where they could use a little.
No drama and no debate, Deone Walker went about where he belonged in the Round 3 slot. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A straight-up fair deal on Omarr Norman-Lott at pick No. 69, value and slot in agreement. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They reached a country mile for Antwaun Powell-Ryland at pick 70, and the board is aghast. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They liked Donovan Jackson enough to skip the value, taking him in the 71st overall pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Tez Johnson. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jack Nelson in No. 76 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Xavier Watts at pick No. 81 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
No edge and no loss on Danny Stutsman in slot 84; it is a wash and a sensible one. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They went early on Maxwell Hairston in the 87th overall pick, and the value did not follow. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Value with a capital V on Malachi Moore in pick 88, a genuine coup. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Barrett Carter in the 97th pick. The roster fit checks out.
Lathan Ransom in the Round 3 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Elic Ayomanor in Round 4, Pick 19 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value said wait; DeMonte Capehart in No. 125 says they were not listening. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Shemar Turner at the 126th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A need, and now a little less of one.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Joshua Gray in the Round 4 slot, miles early. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Cam Skattebo in No. 131 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Carson Schwesinger slid further than he should have, and pick 132 is lovely value for the linebacker. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Rylie Mills at the 134th overall pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the interior defensive lineman. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A safety of that caliber at pick No. 136 is the definition of value, full stop. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Jake Majors in Round 5, Pick 1, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They barely believed it either: Smael Mondon Jr. still on the board at slot 139. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jaylin Noel in pick No. 140 is fair value, right on his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Fair-plus on Vernon Broughton, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Brady Cook at No. 145 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Miles Frazier at the 147th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A real head-scratcher, Nazir Stackhouse in Round 5, Pick 13 is miles ahead of his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They robbed the room for Chris Paul Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It fills a real need, too.
Kobe King in the 157th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A wild overpay on Jonah Monheim in slot 160, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They will replay Devin Neal at the 162nd pick for years; that is how good the value is. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
You do not let a linebacker like Jeffrey Bassa reach slot 165 and blink. They did not. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board fumbled Oronde Gadsden II all the way to pick 167, and they scooped it up. The roster fit checks out.
They left a pile of value on the table to take CJ West this early at the 168th overall pick. A need, and now a little less of one.
Circle this one: Cody Simon at No. 169 is a fall that decides a draft. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Somehow Sonny Styles was still sitting there in pick No. 170, and they pounced on premier safety value. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They took Theo Wease Jr. at par in the Round 6 slot, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Rod Moore in Round 6, Pick 14 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They jumped the gun on DJ Campbell, taking him earlier than his grade liked. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A big swing on Tonka Hemingway at slot 193, well ahead of any board in the building. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Thor Griffith at No. 194 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It fills a real need, too.
Ja'Corey Brooks in the 196th pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nick Nash in pick 199 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
By-the-book stuff, Seth McLaughlin at the Round 6 slot squarely in line with his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached into another round for Quinn Carroll, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Hunter Wohler. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They talked themselves into Logan Parr at the Round 6 slot, and the board did not agree. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Davison Igbinosun in the 204th pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
They reached into another round for Garrett Dellinger, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Xavier Truss in slot 208 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They reached a country mile for Joey Slackman at pick No. 210, and the board is aghast. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 6, Pick 38 with a little surplus value in Cody Lindenberg. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jalen Travis at No. 214 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Brashard Smith at the 219th overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The roster fit checks out.
Nick Martin at the Round 7 slot jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.