A-
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals robbed the room for Belton. Final grade: A-.
by Cards ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 4 reaches
The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Anthony Belton, Round 5, Pick 14, roughly 33 picks past where he belonged. Little to argue with here, and the A- says so.
They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. The quarterback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. It is not that Burke is a bad player; it is that the Cardinals had louder needs to answer first.
Every board in the league had Alexander lower, and that gap is the story.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Zy Alexander and all.
Pick-by-Pick
A reach for Zy Alexander in the 44th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending No. 78 on Denzel Burke with quarterback, wide receiver and other spots unsolved.
A tidy bit of business in the 86th overall pick, where Tate Ratledge graded well above the range. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Donovan Jackson is a better player than pick No. 102 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Cam Skattebo at slot 119 is the proof. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board had cheaper options than Cody Simon at Round 4, Pick 23, and it noticed. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Howard Cross III at the Round 5 slot is a conviction pick that outran the value. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Anthony Belton at pick 153 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Earnest Greene III in the 168th pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.