B+
Arizona Cardinals
Nobody dealt better than the Cardinals this weekend: B+.
by cardz ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 7 steals
· 7 reaches
There was a run on nobody at that position, and the Cardinals started one anyway for Dayon Hayes, 101 picks ahead of schedule. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Mondon Jr.. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend.
They punted on quarterback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. The Cardinals clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but quarterback.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 23 they get a plug-and-play piece up front. The biggest hole, addressed.
DJ Campbell slid further than he should have, and the 54th pick is lovely value for the offensive lineman. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jason Marshall Jr. at the 83rd overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A minor itch, scratched.
Jalon Walker in No. 85 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.
They barely believed it either: Kenneth Grant still on the board at pick 119. The roster fit checks out.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. at Round 4, Pick 22 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Smael Mondon Jr. in pick No. 125 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They reached a country mile for Donovan Jackson at the 136th pick, and the board is aghast. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jonah Monheim this early at the Round 5 slot. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Dayon Hayes in pick 166, miles early. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They talked themselves into Tim Smith at Round 7, Pick 16, and the board did not agree. A need, and now a little less of one.
The board fumbled Jake Briningstool all the way to No. 236, and they scooped it up. It fills a real need, too.
Barrett Carter at the 238th overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Julian Fleming at slot 240 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Circle this one: Donovan Edwards at pick 253 is a fall that decides a draft. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.