B+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by Stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 50 picks
· 13 steals
· 24 reaches
The war room fell hard for Shaun Dolac, and it showed at the 90th overall pick: 229 picks ahead of a board that had other ideas. It nets out to a B+, which feels about right.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Walker. The veteran additions, George Kittle chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
Landon Jackson in pick No. 23 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
In slot 24 they get a premier pass rusher at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick 25 they get a disruptor off the edge. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Nice patience on Walter Nolen, who had no business lasting to No. 26. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
In the 27th overall pick they get a quarterback's worst nightmare, though the board says they badly overpaid. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the Round 1 slot they get juice off the edge, a steep price for the projection. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In Round 1, Pick 31 they get an anchor for the offensive line at a price that makes it sweeter. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They robbed the room for Tyler Warren here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The roster fit checks out.
A straight-up fair deal on Wyatt Milum at the 34th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
No drama and no debate, Tyler Booker went about where he belonged in slot 35. 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 Maxwell Hairston. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A real head-scratcher, Ozzy Trapilo in pick 37 is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on Jihaad Campbell in pick No. 38; it is a wash and a sensible one. A need, and now a little less of one.
Steal is underselling it; Nick Emmanwori at No. 39 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, Kenneth Grant in slot 45, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
By-the-book stuff, Aireontae Ersery at Round 2, Pick 15 squarely in line with his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Matthew Golden at the Round 2 slot is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board fumbled Jalon Walker all the way to pick 50, and they scooped it up. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Will Howard well ahead of where he belonged. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reach for Deone Walker in the 57th overall pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Tate Ratledge in No. 58 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A tidy little value on Alfred Collins in pick No. 59, a step better than break-even. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland in the Round 2 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board had Isaiah Bond higher than slot 65, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Tyleik Williams in pick No. 66 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Demetrius Knight Jr. in No. 67 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A wild overpay on Emery Jones Jr. in the 73rd overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A tidy bit of business in Round 3, Pick 12, where Xavier Restrepo graded well above the range. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Aeneas Peebles at pick 81 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They jumped the gun on Tez Johnson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Logan Brown at No. 83 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They went early on Jaylin Noel in pick No. 85, and the value did not follow. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Cam Skattebo at the 86th pick, and the board did not agree. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid sticker price for Carson Schwesinger in slot 89, and that is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Shaun Dolac at the 90th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A big swing on Chase Lundt at pick 94, well ahead of any board in the building. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Andrew Mukuba at Round 3, Pick 33 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Elijah Arroyo at the Round 3 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Rylie Mills this early at slot 103. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They reached into another round for Willie Lampkin, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached a country mile for Earnest Greene III at the Round 4 slot, and the board is aghast. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A quiet steal in No. 109: Savion Williams for less than the market said. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jabbar Muhammad at Round 4, Pick 10 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Circle this one: Dylan Fairchild at pick 112 is a fall that decides a draft. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Carson Vinson at the 118th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Luke Kandra in pick No. 122. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A premium they did not need to pay, Mello Dotson a notch or two before his time. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Value said wait; Fadil Diggs in Round 4, Pick 24 says they were not listening. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Ty Robinson in No. 130, miles early. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Connor Colby in the 133rd pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.