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👋 GOOD MORNING
Happy Monday! Plenty to cover around the Cardinals‘ draft this past weekend, but first, I need to call out an absolutely remarkable story out of Chase Field on Saturday. In case you missed it, Eugenio Suárez became the 19th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a game, and that includes his game-tying solo shot in the ninth inning.
The feat was soured a bit by the fact that the D-backs lost 8-7 in 10 innings, but an impressive display, nonetheless. Oh by the way, the last player to do it was also a Diamondback: J.D. Martinez in 2017.
One last note: Remember, if this email was forwarded to you, you can sign up for the newsletter right here, and I’ll keep you in the loop with everything going on this summer! Don’t miss a beat!
On to the show!
1 Fact About Every Player in the Cardinals’ Rookie Class
The future is now.
The Arizona Cardinals finished the 2025 NFL Draft with seven picks — one in each round — highlighted by their first-round selection (16th overall), defensive tackle Walter Nolen out of Ole Miss. It was a practical pick, shoring up the team’s run defense with a prospect who will likely play immediately, but what about the other six picks?
Glad you asked. Those picks were:
- CB Will Johnson, Michigan (47th overall)
- OLB Jordan Burch, Oregon (78th overall)
- LB Cody Simon, Ohio State (115th overall)
- CB Denzel Burke, Ohio State (174th overall)
- G Hayden Conner, Texas (211th overall)
- S Kitan Crawford, Nevada (225th overall)
Cardinals Bolster Rookie Class With Undrafted Free Agents
Some pundits had the Cardinals taking a wide receiver as early as the first round in the lead-up to the NFL Draft, but that never materialized. Arizona did in fact add a wideout this weekend, but that came in the form of an undrafted free agent — WR Bryson Green out of Wisconsin. GM Monti Ossenfort and his staff added four other NFL hopefuls, as well: T Josh Fryar out of Ohio State, DT Elijah Simmons out of Tennessee, TE Oscar Cardenas out of UTSA and G Jeremiah Byers out of Florida State.
That’s 12 new Cardinals, and here’s one thing you likely do not know about each of them:
Walter Nolen, DT: Played at four different high schools in three different states.
Will Johnson, CB: Was widely regarded as a top-10 pick, but his draft stock slid due to concerns around his knee.
Jordan Burch, OLB: Played high school football with current Cardinals OLB Xavier Thomas.
Cody Simon, LB: Missed only two games due to injury in his five-year collegiate career.
Denzel Burke, CB: Played at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale.
Hayden Conner, G: Was drafted by the Cardinals on his 23rd birthday.
Kitan Crawford, S: Has 1,010 collegiate special teams snaps, including 17 tackles, a blocked field goal and a blocked punt.
Bryson Green, WR: 3-star recruit out of high school and started his collegiate career at Oklahoma State over offers from Texas, Auburn, Michigan State, Washington and Nebraska.
Josh Fryar, T: Played for current Cardinals offensive line coach Justin Frye during his time at Ohio State.
Elijah Simmons, DT: Was a member of a high school a cappella group called “The Fab Five.”
Oscar Cardenas, TE: Earned his Master’s Degree in educational leadership in December 2024.
Jeremiah Byers, G: Multi-sport athlete in high school (Texas), starring in basketball, as well.
My Take: I think this is a much more fun exercise than assigning any sort of letter grade to a team’s stockpile of rookies following the NFL Draft. Honestly, it doesn’t matter how well you know football, it will be many years before any sort of evaluation can be made. There’s an awfully long list of late-round / undrafted Hall of Famers out there that includes Kurt Warner and Shannon Sharpe, not to mention others like Tom Brady, a slam-dunk Hall of Famer once he’s eligible in 2028.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. So don’t overanalyze or fret. Whether you were happy with the Cardinals’ draft or not, enjoy the anticipation of summer workouts and camp — the promise of a new NFL season is startlingly closer than you think.
Take a Deeper Dive: Check out our Cardinals Draft Day HQ, an interactive database complete with draft shows, results, and player profiles!
Musings From Around (and Sometimes Beyond) The Valley
Anvil Dropped: The Tucson Roadrunners were eliminated from the AHL Playoffs after a 5-0 loss to Abbotsford on Saturday, marking the end of their 2024-25 season. The Roadrunners gave it everything they had in the three-game set against the second-seeded Canucks, but failed to advance past the first round for the third straight season.
D-backs on Track: The Diamondbacks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Braves yesterday afternoon, just a day after Eugenio Suárez belted four home runs in an 8-7 10-inning loss. Arizona hits the road for six straight — three against both the Mets and the Phillies — and is still just 3.5 games back of the NL West-leading Giants.
Eight is Great: Cheers to the ASU Sun Devils baseball team, which hit a school-record eight home runs in a 16-6 win over BYU on Saturday. That total included six home runs in the second inning, highlighted by Isaiah Jackson and Brody Biggs hitting back-to-back homers twice.Yeah, you read that right!
Take a Shot: Phoenix Rising have yet to win at home this season, dropping their Jägermeister Cup opener 1-0 to San Antonio on Saturday. The game’s goal was the only shot on goal all game by either team — oof.
🧢 Tip of the Hat by Branded Bills
Johnny is on board!
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