B-
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals let Cornelius fall into their laps, and walked away with a B-.
by cards ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
The Cardinals spent the weekend waiting on one name, and it fell: Ajani Cornelius, the No. 114 name on the board, in Round 5, Pick 12. They moved the roster forward and banked a B- for it.
Every board in the league had Ratledge lower, and that gap is the story. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it.
Wide receiver was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 16 they get a problem off the edge. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They talked themselves into Tate Ratledge at pick No. 48, and the board did not agree. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Denzel Burke in No. 78 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They robbed the room for Tez Johnson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Ajani Cornelius at the 151st overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Steal is underselling it; Anthony Belton at Round 5, Pick 14 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.