Mission Accomplished for Cardinals After NFL Draft

The 2025 NFL Draft has come to an end and the Arizona Cardinals are walking away with what they hope are key figures to their franchise. It was a pivotal draft the Cardinals needed to nail by addressing key positions to upgrade and provide more depth.

Mission accomplished.

The Cardinals made seven draft selections - six of which were spent on the defensive side of the football. Considering that was the side that needed the most attention, I was obviously a big fan.

Not only did Arizona maximize their draft to improve their comps, they also landed several players with tremendous values for where they were picked. The perfect example was landing Michigan CB Will Johnson in the second round — a corner who was once believed to be the best in the class, but slipped due to long-term medical concerns.

Arizona wouldn’t have selected him if they weren’t sure in what they know about his injury status. So for them to land him in the second round, confidently at that, is quite the move.

But even beyond that selection, the Cardinals were making great use of the players available for them. Grabbing Walter Nolen in the first round of the draft was something I was more than excited to see, and I know many fans share the same sentiment. The former top recruit from high school exploded last season with Ole Miss and has begun to realize his potential. The sky is a limit for him.

The team added edge rusher Jordan Burch in round three and although he may not have been my personal cup of tea, he still goes a long ways in helping this pass rush get back to form.

With the rest of the picks, the Cardinals added a linebacker with Cody Simon, another cornerback for depth in Denzel Burke, an offensive lineman in Hayden Conner, and bolstered safety depth in Kitan Crawford.

Simon is someone who I have quite an affinity toward. I love his versatility and the way that he flies around the field. He should find a role on special teams, but a wide open linebacker room will provide him a chance to find playing time.

Burke is a local kid who never quite achieved his maximum potential with Ohio State. There’s still plenty of good to work with though.

Connor and Crawford each will be thrown to the bench and face of development. We can’t place expectations on them as late draft picks, but obviously fingers crossed they work out.

Looking at this class as a whole, I see this: Nolen is the gem of this class with all world upside; good luck keeping him off the field. Johnson is the alpha at cornerback room needed. Burch is a big man with versatility playing off the edge. Simon and Burke could work their way into roles. Connor and Crawford will be later determined.

With all of that in mind, I feel confident to say that this draft class was as great as it could’ve turned out for Arizona.

The goal I stated repetitively for Arizona for this draft was to walk away with starters and players who can contribute out the gate. Your first three picks will all do that and some of your later selections will be involved in critical training camp battles.

Best of all, even though I said this draft should be focused on now and not so much the future, the Cardinals managed to do both.

You have my respect, Monti Ossenfort.

We will have to wait to see how this draft ultimately comes together, but at least on paper the Cardinals absolutely crushed it.

This is the class I was hoping we would see that could change the fortunes of this team to perennial playoff contenders.

A+.