B-
Arizona Cardinals
A solid, sensible weekend for the Cardinals: B-.
by stan93 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 49 picks
· 18 steals
· 29 reaches
Boards are made to be trusted, and the Cardinals shredded theirs for Cal Haladay. He came off 188 spots early, and the room will hear about it.
They banked enough surplus on Skattebo to cover a lot of smaller sins. The Cardinals clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
A slide stopped in the 33rd pick, with Walter Nolen worth more than the price. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Deone Walker in Round 2, Pick 27 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland in pick No. 78 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.
Tate Ratledge at the Round 3 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They took Aeneas Peebles at par in pick 82, which is nothing to complain about. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A real head-scratcher, David Bailey in No. 83 is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
You do not let a linebacker like Jihaad Campbell reach the 87th overall pick and blink. They did not. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Emery Jones Jr.. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Kaleb Johnson in the Round 3 slot, plain and simple. A need, and now a little less of one.
Denzel Burke slid further than he should have, and Round 3, Pick 35 is lovely value for the cornerback. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Kyle McCord at pick No. 107 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A conviction pick on Joshua Farmer at slot 109 that the board grades a round light. The roster fit checks out.
Dylan Fairchild in No. 111 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Elijah Arroyo at the 112th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It fills a real need, too.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jaylin Noel in the Round 4 slot. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Taking Carson Schwesinger in the 117th pick is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They will replay Malachi Moore at pick No. 121 for years; that is how good the value is. A minor itch, scratched.
Jackson Slater at No. 123 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A reach for Rylie Mills in slot 126; a little patience would have been rewarded. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Willie Lampkin in the 127th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached into another round for Pat Bryant, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached a country mile for Vernon Broughton at Round 4, Pick 30, and the board is aghast. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Luke Kandra at Round 4, Pick 31 is money in the bank, a offensive lineman taken below his worth. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid up for Nick Nash at the 136th pick when waiting would have done the job. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Circle this one: Lathan Ransom at pick 137 is a fall that decides a draft. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A reach on Howard Cross III in the 146th overall pick; the board had better options right there. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board fumbled Chris Paul Jr. all the way to No. 148, and they scooped it up. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A wild overpay on Dont'e Thornton Jr. in pick No. 151, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Ricky White III in the Round 5 slot, miles early. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Cody Simon at slot 153 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The roster fit checks out.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jahvaree Ritzie well ahead of where he belonged. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Addison West at Round 5, Pick 24 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Oronde Gadsden II in the 163rd pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A need, and now a little less of one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Kyle Williams this early at the Round 5 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Steal is underselling it; Jay Higgins at No. 166 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They talked themselves into Shaun Dolac at slot 168, and the board did not agree. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Jack Kiser at pick No. 170 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Cam Skattebo at pick 171 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Tonka Hemingway at Round 5, Pick 36 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It fills a real need, too.
Cobee Bryant at slot 174 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A big swing on Jonas Sanker at No. 177, well ahead of any board in the building. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
They robbed the room for Jonah Monheim here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Value said wait; DJ Campbell in the 181st overall pick says they were not listening. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Seth McLaughlin well ahead of where he belonged. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Brant Kuithe at the 185th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jackson Hawes this early at pick 188. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A real head-scratcher, Cal Haladay in the 189th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jalen Travis in slot 190, miles early. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
RJ Harvey in the Round 7 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It patches a soft spot without any drama.