Superlatives: Cardinals Most Valuable, Surprising Draft Picks

The Arizona Cardinals welcomed seven rookies into their organization in the 2025 NFL Draft. Some picks lit up the media and fans more than others, while some were a but head-scratching.

In all, GM Monti Ossenfort emphasized defense, bringing in six defensive players and one offensive player — an interior OL.

Here are your Cardinals Draft Superlatives:

Most Underrated - LB Cody Simon, Ohio State

The linebacker out of Ohio State might not have been the most exciting pick, even amongst his own teammates. But the Cardinals were able to fill a major need with perhaps one of the best off-ball options available beyond the first couple of rounds.

Simon picked up an immense 112 tackles at Ohio State in his senior year alone, and even added seven sacks on top of that. He's a field-general-type LB, with an extremely balanced blend of pass rush ability, coverage, run defense and overall tackling.

With the departure of Kyzir White and Krys Barnes, Simon will likely see a large role immediately, and could become a green dot sooner rather than later alongside Mack Wilson Sr.

Most Surprising - S Kitan Crawford, Nevada

The Cardinals traded for a sixth rounder, then spent it on an OL, only to turn around and grab a safety in the seventh round. Not only do they have a star safety under contract for three more seasons in Budda Baker, but Jalen Thompson sits next to him, and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is their future.

Even if Crawford is merely a seventh-round flier pick whose ceiling is special teams, it feels as if Ossenfort could have utilized a seventh on a late-round WR, or even a developmental QB. Crawford has some raw skills worth paying attention to, but doesn't fill a need, and Ossenfort tripled down on DB picks when it seemed like that wasn't necessary.

Most Valuable - CB Will Johnson

The fact that the Cardinals somehow were able to grab a stud DL in the first round and still grab one of the best players available at a position of relative need in Will Johnson is astounding.

Johnson's knee might offer some concerns — it's certainly the only reason the star CB fell to pick 47, but Arizona was able to get one of their favorite players, and one of the most refined prospects in this year's draft, all without having to spend a first-round pick or trade up in a later round.

If Johnson does remain healthy and plays up to his ceiling, this pick could go down as one of the most incredible second-round value picks of all time. Arizona is getting a player with a chip on his shoulder and an immense amount of talent, adding him to a rising young core of defensive backs with plenty of reinforcements along the front seven to aid them.

Least Valuable - CB Denzel Burke, Ohio State

It's not that Burke isn't a good player — he is, and could easily carve out a role for himself in Arizona's secondary, depending on positional flexibility and a variety of other factors.

But outside of Burke being an Arizona native, the Cardinals could have targeted other positions of need in the fifth round, since they had just invested a second-rounder in perhaps the best CB of the draft in Johnson.

Burke does have skills, and has a very high ceiling both athletically and within Gannon's scheme. But with no disrespect to Burke as a player, this pick would have been better suited to a WR, OL or developmental QB. The difference between this pick and the Crawford pick, is that a fifth-rounder carries significantly more value, and with that, expectations.

Burke will be set up to ride the bench to open the season, and while he was one of the better players on Ohio State's defense, it still felt like a bit of a reach.

Full list of all Arizona Cardinals Draft picks and moves