As a lead-up to the 2025 NFL draft, we've broken down the current depth chart of every NFL team and identified the biggest draft and team needs for the Arizona Cardinals.
You can find additional team-by-team draft needs articles and other draft content on our 2025 NFL Draft Hub.
Arizona Cardinals Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2025
- Offensive Line
- Edge Rusher
- Wide Receiver
What Picks Do the Arizona Cardinals Have in 2025?
The Arizona Cardinals have 6 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, including:
- Round 1 (16)
- Round 2 (47)
- Round 3 (78)
- Round 4 (115)
- Round 5 (152)
- Round 7 (225)
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Arizona Cardinals 2025 Draft Capital Stats
The Cardinals have the 19th-most draft capital according to our Sharp Football Draft Value.
Our Sharp Football Draft Value is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.
Arizona Cardinals Draft Value vs. Other Teams:
The Cardinals’ draft value is 11% lower than the league average of all 32 teams.
Arizona Cardinals Draft Prediction:
Find out who our top-rated experts expect the Cardinals to draft:
- Brendan Donahue's 2025 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #2 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.
- Ryan McCrystal's 2025 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #8 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.
Arizona Cardinals Strength of Schedule, 2025
The Arizona Cardinals have the 11th-easiest NFL strength of schedule for the 2025 NFL season.
Arizona Cardinals Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs
Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the Arizona Cardinals, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
Quarterback Depth Chart, Cardinals:
- Kyler Murray
- Jacoby Brissett
- Clayton Tune
The 2024 season was a Rorschach test for Kyler Murray.
He completed 68.8% of his passes for 7.1 yards per pass attempt with a 3.9% touchdown rate.
All of those were highs since 2021.
He had the highest success rate (48.4%) of his career while posting the lowest rate of plays that lost 1.0 EPA or more (14.6%).
He played every game for the first time since 2020.
While he played better football than in recent seasons, there was also a lack of upside.
He finished 14th in EPA per dropback (0.09) and 27th in the rate of dropbacks that resulted in a gain of 1.0 EPA or more (21.6%).
Downfield passing and third down performance were thorns again for Murray.
On throws 10 or more yards downfield, he was 22nd in rating (82.3), completing 47.8% of those passes (21st).
Over the past three seasons, Murray has completed 44.3% of his throws 10 or more yards downfield, which is 29th in the league.
On throws 20 or more yards downfield, Murray was 33rd in rating (57.2).
Over the past three seasons, Murray has completed 30.8% of his throws 20 or more yards downfield, which is 30th in the league.
This passing game struggled the most when the opponents knew they had to throw.
Murray completed 59.6% of his passes (20th) on third downs.
Long down and distances were an Achilles' heel for this passing game.
Murray only had 7 passing conversions on third and long (needing 7 or more yards) over 17 games.
That was the same number as Michael Penix (3 starts) and Dak Prescott (8 starts).
He only had one more than Deshaun Watson (7 starts).
Murray was 28th in rating in the fourth quarter (77.2).
He had a 1.4% touchdown rate in the fourth quarter last season, the lowest of all qualifying passers.
Trailing in the fourth quarter, he dipped to a 76.4 rating and a 0.9% touchdown rate.
He has not had a touchdown rate of 4% or higher in each of the past three seasons.
Some of that falls on the design of this passing game when it is forced to play out of structure, but Arizona is still looking for him to move into the front-end tier of his position.
Arizona is committed to seeing if he can get there.
Murray is signed through the 2027 season with a club option for 2028.
He carries cap hits of $43.3 million, $53.2 million, and $43.5 million over the next three seasons with no cap savings on a release or trade until the 2027 season.
The team added veteran Jacoby Brissett on a two-year deal this offseason to back up Murray.
Brissett made five starts with New England last season, completing 59% of his passes for 5.1 yards per pass attempt.
Through nine NFL seasons, Brissett’s teams are 19-34 with him as the starter.
Running Back Depth Chart, Cardinals:
- James Conner
- Trey Benson
- DeeJay Dallas
- Michael Carter
- Emari Demercado
- Zonovan Knight
Drew Petzing has shown he can design an efficient run game with Arizona.
In 2024, Arizona running backs combined to rank:
- 5th in EPA per rush (0.03)
- 5th in success rate (43.5%)
- 1st in rate of runs for 10 or more yards (14.6%)
- 1st in rate of runs to result in a first down or touchdown (28.3%)
- 2nd in yards after contact per rush (3.59).
James Conner was excellent again last season, posting career marks in touches (283) and yards from scrimmage (1,508) with 9 touchdowns.
His 5.3 yards per touch was the second-best rate of his career.
Over the past two seasons, Conner is third among all running backs in forced missed tackles per rush.
Conner had 49 plays of 10 or more yards, fifth among all running backs.
More importantly, he stayed on the field.
Conner played every game until being forced out in Week 17 and missing the season finale.
That earned Conner an extension during the season, signing him through the 2026 season.
Conner will turn 30 this May.
Arizona selected Trey Benson in the third round (66th overall) last year, but we did not see much of him due to Conner's effectiveness.
Benson appeared in 13 games, turning 69 touches into 350 yards (5.1 yards per touch) and a touchdown.
Benson and special teams ace DeeJay Dallas are under contract for multiple seasons behind Conner.
After this season, the team holds restricted rights on both Emari Demercado and Zonovan Knight.
Wide Receiver Depth Chart, Cardinals:
- Marvin Harrison Jr.
- Michael Wilson
- Greg Dortch
- Zay Jones
- Simi Fehoko
- Trishton Jackson
- Quez Watkins
- Andre Baccellia
- Xavier Weaver
- Tejhaun Palmer
Arizona has an elite tight end who reduces some of the counting stats of its wide receivers, but this unit still underperformed last season.
Arizona wide receivers combined to catch 154 passes (29th) for 1,859 yards (30th) and 15 touchdowns (21st).
They averaged 3.8 yards after the catch (26th).
The Cardinals spent the fourth overall pick last season on Marvin Harrison Jr.
His rookie season was arguably more of a Rorschach test than Kyler Murray’s.
Harrison caught 62 of 116 targets for 885 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Since 2000, the only rookie wideouts with over 850 yards and 8 touchdowns on fewer than 65 receptions are Julio Jones, A.J. Brown, Tampa Bay Mike Williams, and Chase Claypool.
On the other hand, Harrison Jr. finished seventh among all rookie wideouts in yards per route (1.64).
He only managed 1.70 yards per route against man coverage, which was 10th among rookies.
His 21.5% target rate per route ranked sixth among rookies.
His 2.4 yards after the catch ranked 17th among rookies, something that was lacking in his collegiate profile.
He had 10 games with fewer than 50 yards receiving.
While other rookie wideouts outdid Harrison Jr., and he may have disappointed to a degree based on lofty expectations, this passing game did not do him any favors.
Harrison Jr. was hardly given any “free squares.”
Arizona did nothing creative with him, asking him to win downfield and primarily outside of the numbers.
Harrison Jr. had the most targets in the NFL last season without a single one coming at or behind the line of scrimmage.
25.9% of his targets came on go Routes, the second-highest rate in the NFL among receivers with 50 or more targets in the season.
When he did run crossing routes, he averaged 2.08 yards per route.
Harrison Jr. had questions about being pigeonholed as a prototypical X receiver entering the NFL in an era when that archetype has lost ground to versatile wide receivers.
Still, Arizona should also do more to use him creatively moving forward to maximize their investment.
This is a nondescript unit behind Harrison Jr, leaving the potential to upgrade.
Michael Wilson and Xavier Weaver are the only wideouts other than Harrison Jr. signed beyond 2025.
Tight End Depth Chart, Cardinals:
- Trey McBride
- Tip Reiman
- Elijah Higgins
- Travis Vokolek
- Bernhard Seikovits
Trey McBride anchored this passing game in 2024, catching 111 of 147 targets for 1,146 yards and 2 touchdowns, adding a rushing score to his totals.
McBride was targeted on 27.5% of his routes, which led all tight ends last season.
His 2.15 yards per route ranked third at the position.
McBride did run unlucky on touchdown production, converting just 1 of his 9 end zone targets for touchdowns.
That said, his performance earned him a massive extension through the 2029 season.
Arizona has plenty of young, contractual depth behind McBride, with Tip Reiman and Elijah Higgins under contract for multiple seasons.
Offensive Line Depth Chart, Cardinals:
LT: Paris Johnson, Kelvin Beachum
LG: Evan Brown, Jake Curhan
C: Hjalte Froholdt, Jon Gaines, Sincere Haynesworth
RG: Isaiah Adams, Royce Newman, Matthew Jones
RT: Jonah Williams, Christian Jones, McClendon Curtis
Arizona struggled to keep this offensive line intact during the 2024 season.
Their most-frequent combination up front played just 19.9% of the offensive snaps, the second-lowest rate in the league last year.
Hjalte Froholdt and Evan Brown were the only starters to play in all 17 games.
The right side of the line suffered the brunt of injuries, as three different players played over 200 snaps at right guard.
Four players logged in time at right tackle, with Jonah Williams only appearing in six games.
Williams is an unrestricted free agent after the season.
So is veteran swing tackle Kelvin Beachum, leaving the door open for the team to add insurance.
Paris Johnson, Evan Brown, Isaiah Adams, and Froholdt are all under contract for multiple seasons.
Johnson had a strong second season at left tackle, finishing 12th among all tackles in overall grade per Pro Football Focus.
Right guard is a spot where competition can be added.
Arizona selected Adams in the third round last year.
He started five games, allowing a 6.1% pressure rate.
That was 75th among guards.
Arizona Cardinals Defense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs
Raymond Summerlin breaks down the defensive depth chart by position for the Arizona Cardinals, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
Defensive Line Depth Chart, Cardinals:
- Dalvin Tomlinson
- Darius Robinson
- Calais Campbell
- Justin Jones
- Bilal Nichols
- Dane Stills
- L.J. Collier
- Ben Stille
- PJ Mustipher
- Anthony Goodlow
The Cardinals once again struggled to stop running backs in 2024, allowing 4.7 yards per carry to the position (28th) and the most yards after contact per carry to running backs (3.6).
Arizona added a lot to the defensive line last offseason, but Justin Jones played just three games while Bilal Nichols lasted six.
They also spent a first-round pick on Darius Robinson, who did not suit up until Week 13.
Jones and Nichols will likely be further down the depth chart this year following another wave of additions, with Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell joining the team this spring.
Tomlinson’s career sack numbers are not going to blow anyone away, but he quietly has had a solid pressure rate for the last three seasons, and that crested at 11.9% for the Browns last year.
He also made plays in the backfield against the run, logging 10 stuffs.
The ageless Campbell had 11 run stuffs of his own for the Dolphins last season and led all defensive linemen with a tackle on 21.7% of his run defense snaps.
He threw in another 5 sacks for good measure and has at least 5 in each of his last three seasons.
Robinson should be in the mix with those two after finishing his rookie season as a rotational player once he returned from injury.
This is an older group outside of Robinson, and Campbell is on a one-year deal.
Those two things add some long-term concerns.
For 2025, though, this unit looks to be in good shape, assuming they don’t have another wave of injuries.
EDGE Depth Chart, Cardinals:
- Josh Sweat
- BJ Ojulari
- Baron Browning
- Zaven Collins
- Benton Whitley
- Xavier Thomas
- Elliott Brown
Arizona did finish with a respectable 41 sacks, the 13th most in the league, but their 30.1% pressure rate ranked 25 among all teams in 2024.
They spent big to upgrade that pass rush in free agency, signing Josh Sweat to a four-year, $76.4 million contract.
Sweat has been a consistent threat off the edge over the last four years, averaging a 12.8% pressure rate and 8.3 sacks per season.
Last season, he ranked 20th among all qualified pass rushers with a 14.1% pressure rate and logged 2.5 sacks in the Eagles’ Super Bowl win.
Arizona also brought back Baron Browning, whom they acquired from the Broncos in November.
Browning was a rotational player after joining the Cardinals and does not have great career sack numbers, but his career 13.9% pressure rate suggests he could have more to show on his second contract.
His two-year, $15 million deal could end up being a bargain, but Browning has to stay on the field and convert those pressures.
2023 second-round pick BJ Ojulari missed all of last season after suffering a torn ACL during training camp.
He has a promising rookie season on limited pass rushing snaps, but his health is a concern after Ojulari opened his rookie training camp on the PUP list because of a different knee injury.
Zaven Collins led the team with 5 sacks last season.
After starting his career as an inside linebacker, he moved to the edge in 2023 and has 8.5 sacks on an 11.3% pressure rate over the last two seasons.
Sweat is a solid No. 1 option, and there is a lot of upside in this group with Ojulari and Browning.
There are also a lot of questions, though, making this an area the Cardinals could address early in the draft.
Linebacker Depth Chart, Cardinals:
- Akeem Davis-Gaither
- Mack Wilson
- Mykal Walker
- Owen Pappoe
- Vi Jones
- Milo Eifler
Kyzir White, who led the linebackers in snaps last season, remains a free agent.
The Cardinals brought in Akeem Davis-Gaither in free agency to seemingly replace him.
Davis-Gaither set a career high with 534 defensive snaps last season, so it remains to be seen if he can be an every-snap player.
He was solid in that more extended runout, but he was not particularly impactful against the run, ranking 58th among qualified linebackers in run stuffs and finishing 76th in yards allowed per coverage snap.
Mack Wilson is the top returner after signing with the Cardinals last offseason.
He was not as active as White in the running game, but he allowed just 6.4 yards per target and a 78.4 quarterback rating in coverage.
Another new addition, Mykal Walker does not have a strong history of starting and was primarily a special teamer with the Commanders last season.
No one else on the roster has played meaningful defensive snaps thus far in the NFL.
Perhaps Arizona will look to bring in a veteran to shore up this unit, but this is a spot they could target with one of their Day 2 picks.
Cornerback Depth Chart, Cardinals:
- Sean Murphy-Bunting
- Garrett Williams
- Max Melton
- Starling Thomas V
- Elijah Jones
- Kei’Trel Clark
- Jaden Davis
- Jaylon Jones
- Darren Hall
The Cardinals allowed 7.3 yards per attempt (24th) and forced just 9 interceptions (24th) last season, but they were sixth in touchdown rate allowed (3.7%).
Arizona has spent a lot on this position in the past including a 2024 second-round pick on Max Melton, a 2024 third-round pick on Elijah Jones, a 2023 third-round pick on Garrett Williams, and a three-year contract for Sean Murphy–Bunting last offseason.
As the stats above illustrate, they have not seen a great return on that investment, but their pass defense was at least better last season.
Primarily lining up in the slot, Williams has turned into the best player in this group, finishing seventh among qualified corners in yards allowed per coverage snap last season.
Murphy-Bunting was not as good as Williams in his first season with the Cardinals, though he did improve from his dreadful one season with the Titans.
Starling Thomas played the most snaps among the rest of this group, allowing 7.8 yards per target in his coverage, but the Cardinals almost certainly want one of those 2024 draft picks to win the No. 3 job this season.
Jones missed his entire rookie season because of an ankle injury, and Melton was not great whenever he got onto the field in his first year.
Even so, both should be given every opportunity to earn a role in training camp.
Like with the rest of the defense, the Cardinals have enough here to feel comfortable going into Week 1, but there is room atop the depth chart for a quality addition.
Safety Depth Chart, Cardinals:
- Budda Baker
- Jalen Thompson
- Dadrion Taylor-Demerson
- Joey Blount
- Jammie Robinson
The Cardinals have to feel good about where they are at safety heading into 2025, though Jalen Thompson’s pending free agency does add some long-term complications.
The contract is not a concern for Budda Baker, who signed a three-year extension late in the 2024 season.
Baker led all qualified safeties with 16 run stuffs and a tackle on 19.2% of his run defense snaps.
The one concern might be getting more snaps for 2024 fourth-round pick Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, who had some hiccups in coverage but overall showed well whenever he got on the field in 2024.
Thompson’s contact does raise some long-term concerns, but those are assuaged by the early returns from Taylor-Demerson.
This is a solid group for the Cardinals.
2025 Depth Chart Analysis & Team Needs for All 32 NFL Teams
