C+
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals robbed the room for Knight Jr.. Final grade: C+.
by menboys ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 5 picks
· 1 steals
· 3 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Demetrius Knight Jr. had no business being available in pick No. 114, and the Cardinals did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Some smart calls, some head-scratchers, and a C+ in the wash.
The cost of the Mbow reach is exactly the players who went right after him. Leaving wide receiver unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. Job largely done: quarterback settled and 4 of 8 of the wish list covered.
The trenches got the money picks, top to bottom.
So much rides on Marcus Mbow that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 16 they get protection for the quarterback, a steep price for the projection. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A conviction pick on Jaxson Dart at slot 47 that the board grades a round light. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
By-the-book stuff, Aeneas Peebles at the 78th pick squarely in line with his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
You do not let a linebacker like Demetrius Knight Jr. reach the Round 4 slot and blink. They did not. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached a country mile for Cobee Bryant at No. 153, and the board is aghast. It adds depth where they could use a little.