B-
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals found their guy under center in Gabriel: B-.
by Vincent ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 0 steals
· 6 reaches
You can hear the double-takes from here. The Cardinals took Kyren Lacy at No. 104, roughly 67 spots before his name belonged. It nets out to a B-, which feels about right.
They have staked the next five years on Dillon Gabriel, which is the only story that really matters here. For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain. The future picks help the war chest more than the win-now roster.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 30 they get their guy under center for the next decade, though the board says they badly overpaid. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A straight-up fair deal on Tyler Booker at the Round 2 slot, value and slot in agreement. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Earnest Greene III in pick No. 62 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Clay Webb in No. 72 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jason Marshall Jr. in the 94th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They reached a country mile for Kyren Lacy at pick 104, and the board is aghast. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nothing to complain about; Aireontae Ersery went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A premium they did not need to pay, Tonka Hemingway a notch or two before his time. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jaishawn Barham in pick No. 168 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jay Toia at pick 200 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It fills a real need, too.