2014 NFL Draft Arizona Cardinals notes

The Cardinals are scheduled to have six overall picks with one in each of the first six rounds. Arizona sent its seventh-round pick to Oakland as part of last April’s trade to acquire QB Carson Palmer. The rounds and picks are listed below:

Round   Round # Overall #

1       20^th     20^th     
2       20^th    52^nd
3       20^th     84^th   
4       20^th     120^th
5        20^th     160^th
6       20^th    196^th

The Cardinals draft day media headquarters will be located at the team’s Tempe Training Facility (8701 S. Hardy Dr.). Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Bruce Arians, General Manager Steve Keim, and appropriate staff members will speak with the media following the Cardinals selections.

This will be the second draft since Keim was named General Manager and Arians as head coach. In the 2013 NFL Draft, the Cardinals selected nine players. Despite first-round pick G Jonathan Cooper missing his rookie campaign after breaking his leg during the preseason, the 2013 draft class still made a significant contribution to the team’s 10-6 record.

RB Andre Ellington (6^th round, 187^th overall) – became just the fifth rookie in team history to surpass 1,000 yards from scrimmage with 1,023 total yards (652 rushing, 371 receiving) and led all NFL players (min. 100 carries) with a 5.53 yards per carry average.

S Tyrann Mathieu (3^rd round, 69^th overall) – the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for October played in 13 games (11 starts) before suffering a season-ending knee injury and was one of three rookies in the NFL during the 2013 season to have at least two INTs, a sack and a forced fumble.

LB Kevin Minter (2^nd round, 45^th overall) – played in 13 games mostly on special teams and is expected to compete for a starting ILB spot in 2014.

RB Stepfan Taylor (5^th round, 140^th overall) – played in all 16 games, finishing with 115 rushing yards and 71 receiving yards.

Keim, who was selected as 2013 NFL General Manager of the Year by both the staff and readers of Pro Football Talk, has been with the Cardinals dating back to 1999 when he joined the organization as a regional scout. Since the 2009 draft, the first after his promotion to Director of Player Personnel, he has played a key role in selecting a number of players that will be key contributors in 2014. Last year, G Jonathan Cooper, LB Kevin Minter, S Tyrann Mathieu and RB Andre Ellington were selected. WR Michael Floyd was selected in 2012 and CB Patrick Peterson, TE Rob Housler and LB Sam Acho were among the 2011 selections. Other Cardinals draft picks in recent years include DT Dan Williams and LB Daryl Washington in 2010 and S Rashad Johnson in 2009.

20 QUESTIONS

After finishing 10-6 in 2013, Arizona will select 20^th in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft and all subsequent rounds. Recent notable picks at the 20^th spot include G Kyle Long (Chicago, 2013), WR Kendall Wright (Tennessee, 2012), TE Brandon Pettigrew (Detroit, 2009), CB Aqib Talib (Tampa Bay, 2008) and DE Tamba Hali (Kansas City, 2006).

The Cardinals have had the 20^th overall selection just once in team history; in 1938 they selected back Frank Patrick out of Pittsburgh in the third round. This will mark the third time in the last six years the Cardinals have picked 20^th or later in the first round and the sixth time since 1967 when the NFL and AFL held their first common draft.

Over the last 10 NFL Drafts, there have been three players on offense and seven players on defense selected with the 20^th pick. The last 10 selections have combined to average 13.8 games played and 11.7 starts per season. The last five players taken with the 20^thpick have combined to appear in 214 of a possible 240 regular season games. Last year’s 20^th overall selection, Chicago G Kyle Long, started all 16 games and was selected to the Pro Bowl in his rookie campaign.

Over the last 20 NFL Drafts, there have been six players on offense and 14 players on defense selected with the 20^th pick. Over the past 20 years, notable 20^th overall picks include WR Javon Walker (Green Bay, 2002), S Adam Archuleta (St. Louis, 2001), DE Ebenzer Ekuban (Dallas, 1999) and DT Tim Bowens (Miami, 1994). The last 20 selections have combined to average 13.2 games played and 10.8 starts per season. The last 20 players chosen with the 20^th overall pick have combined for 10 Pro Bowl selections, led by DE Tamba Hali with three.

HALL OF FAME WORTHY: The slots where the Cardinals will make their first three picks this year (20^th, 52^nd and 84^th) have each produced at least one member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including former Rams DE Jack Youngblood (20^th overall pick in 1971) and former Chargers QB Dan Fouts (84^th overall pick in 1973).

Pick    Player  Year Drafted    Year Inducted

20      DE Jack Youngblood              1971            2001

52      DT Henry Jordan         1957            1995

84      QB Dan Fouts            1973            1993

        WR/HB Bobby Mitchell    1958            1983

LAST ONES CHOSEN: Below is a look at the last player taken by the Cardinals with each selection they currently hold in the 2014 NFL Draft. The Cardinals have not picked in any of their six 2014 slots since 1997 when they had the 84^th overall pick and selected Ohio State DB Ty Howard.

Pick    Player          Year Drafted

20      B Frank Patrick 1938

52      LB Ted Bates            1959

84      DB Ty Howard    1997

120     LB Chris Gaines 1988

160     DE Council Rudolph      1972

196     G Jim Brown             1966

A DECADE OF EXCELLENCE: The 2014 draft marks the 10^th anniversary of the Cardinals selection of two cornerstone players: WR Larry Fitzgerald (1^st round, 3^rd overall) and DT Darnell Dockett (3^rd round, 64^th overall). The two have combined for 11 Pro Bowl nods, with Fitzgerald leading all 2004 draft picks with eight. The Cardinals are the only team in the NFL with two of their 2004 selections still on their roster. Fitzgerald and Dockett are two of only nine players from the 2004 draft that remain with the team that selected them.

2004 draft picks still with original team

Player  Team    Rnd (Overall)

WR Larry Fitzgerald     Arizona          1^st (3^rd overall)

QB Ben Roethlisberger   Pittsburgh      1^st (11^th overall)

DT Vince Wilfork        New England     1^st (21^st overall)

G Chris Snee    NY Giants       2^nd (34^th overall)

DT Darnell Dockett       Arizona          3^rd (64^th overall)

C Nick Hardwick San Diego       3^rd (66^th overall)

DE Robert Geathers      Cincinnati      4^th (117^th overall)

K Josh Scobee   Jacksonville    5^th (137^th overall)

P Andy Lee      San Francisco   6^th (188^th overall)

TOP-NOTCH TALENT: The Cardinals currently have 23 players on their roster who were selected in the first three rounds of the draft. Of those, 13 were drafted by the Cardinals.

Round   Cardinal Draft Picks On Roster (Year Selected)

1^st     G Jonathan Cooper (2013), WR Michael Floyd (2012), CB Patrick Peterson (2011), DT Dan Williams (2010), WR Larry Fitzgerald (2004)

2^nd     LB Kevin Minter (2013), RB Ryan Williams (2011), LB Daryl Washington (2010), DE Calais Campbell (2008)

3^rd     S Tyrann Mathieu (2013), TE Rob Housler (2011), S Rashad Johnson (2009), DT Darnell Dockett (2004)

The Cardinals have nine total former first-round picks on their roster, with QB Carson Palmer (1^st overall, 2003), WR Ted Ginn, Jr. (9^thoverall, 2007), LB John Abraham (13^th overall, 2000) and CB Antonio Cromartie (19^th overall, 2006) joining the five originally selected by Arizona.

LATE ROUND VALUE: Between 2011-13, the Cardinals selected 16 total players in rounds four through seven. Of those 16, nine remain with the Cardinals, including 2013 sixth-rounder RB Andre Ellington, who totaled over 1,000 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, and 2012 sixth-rounder CB Justin Bethel, who was selected to his first Pro Bowl as a special teamer last season.

FIRST ROUNDERS: Dating back to 1960, the Cardinals have drafted an offensive player in the first round 29 times and defensive 28:

1^st Round      

Offense Defense Special Teams  

29 players      28 players      1 player       

2^nd Round

Offense Defense Special Teams

32 players      24 players      1 player

Arizona has selected two players on offense (G Jonathan Cooper-2013, WR Michael Floyd-2012) and one player on defense (CBPatrick Peterson-2011) in the first round of the last three drafts.

In the last 10 years, the Cardinals have had 72 total draft picks (39 on offense and 33 on defense):

Offense Defense

Offensive Line – 13     Linebacker – 14

Wide Receiver – 9       Defensive Line – 9

Running Back – 8        Cornerback – 7

Tight End – 5   Safety – 3

Quarterback – 4         

Cardinals First-Round Draft Picks By Position (1970-Present)

Position        Most Recent Player       Total Number

Offensive Line  Jonathan Cooper, 2013           7

Cornerback      Patrick Peterson, 2011          7

Wide Receiver   Michael Floyd, 2012             6

Linebacker      Jamir Miller, 1994              6

Defensive Tackle        Dan Williams, 2010              5

Running Back    Beanie Wells, 2009              5

Defensive End   Calvin Pace, 2003               4

Quarterback     Matt Leinart, 2006              3

Punter/Kicker   Steve Little, 1978              1

Safety  Ken Greene, 1978                1

Tight End       J.V. Cain, 1974                 1

• Of the 46 players selected by the Cardinals in the first round since 1970, more have come from the Big Ten than any other conference.

Cardinals First-Round Picks By Conference (Top 5 – 1970-Present)

Conference      No.

Big Ten 10     

SEC     9

Pac-12  9

ACC     7

Big 12  4

• Dating back to the 1970 merger, the Cardinals have had nine transactions involving their first round draft selections.

First-Round Transactions (1970-2013)

Transaction     No.     Years

Traded Down     3       2003, 1998, 1982

Traded Up       2       Both in 1993 – Up from 4^th pick and up from 20^th pick (compensatory)

Traded for Player(s)    3       1995, 1992, 1977

Supplemental Draft      1       Used 1990 first-round pick in 1989 Supplemental Draft (Timm Rosenbach)

• The Cardinals made 12 trades involving draft picks over the last five years, including five during the draft. Players chosen with picks acquired in trades include LB Daryl Washington (2010), CB Justin Bethel (2012), G Earl Watford (2013) and RB Andre Ellington(2013).

• Since 2001, 15 different Cardinals have been selected to the Pro Bowl and 10 of those players were acquired via the draft, including the following five who are still with the team:

Player  Pos     Draft Year      Pro Bowl Year(s)

Larry Fitzgerald        WR      2004    2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Darnell Dockett DT      2004    2007, 2009, 2010

Daryl Washington        LB      2010    2012

Patrick Peterson        CB      2011    2011, 2012, 2013

Justin Bethel   ST      2012    2013

• Of the 22 regular starters for the Cardinals in 2012, 12 were either drafted by Arizona (offense-5, defense-7) or signed with the team as a rookie free agent.

• Of the 33 different players who started a game for Arizona in 2013, 17 were either drafted or signed as a rookie free agent by the team.

• Eight of the 16 players with starts on offense were Cardinals draftees or signed as rookie free agents
• Nine of the 17 players with starts on defense were Cardinals draftees or signed as rookie free agents

• The Cardinals currently have 39 players on the roster who were selected in the NFL Draft (22 were originally chosen by the Cardinals and 17 were chosen by other teams).

• Since 2002, the Cardinals have selected 12 players from schools outside of Division I-A, including nine in the last seven drafts (2007-13).

Player  Pos     Yr Drafted      Round (Pick)    College

Earl Watford    G       2013    4^th (116^th)     James Madison

Justin Bethel   S       2012    6^th (177^th)     Presbyterian

Andre Roberts   WR      2010    3^rd (88^th)      The Citadel

John Skelton    QB      2010    5^th (155^th)     Fordham

Greg Toler      CB      2009    4^th (131^st)     Saint Paul’s (VA) College

D. Rodgers-Cromartie    CB      2008    1^st (16^th)      Tennessee St

Tim Hightower   RB      2008    5^th (149^th)     Richmond

Brandon Keith   T       2008    7^th (225^th)     Northern Iowa

Ben Patrick     TE      2007    7^th (215^th)     Delaware

LeRon McCoy     WR      2005    7^th (226^th)     Indiana (PA)   

Reggie Wells    G       2003    6^th (177^th)     Clarion (PA)

Josh McCown     QB      2002    3^rd (81^st)      Sam Houston St.

• The Cardinals currently have 10 players on their roster from schools outside of Division 1-A.

• In 2013, the Cardinals had 18 players appear in a game that originally entered the league as undrafted free agents, including three who were rookies last season (WR Jaron Brown, LB Kenny Demens and S Tony Jefferson). Both Brown and Jefferson made the 53-man roster out of training camp and went on to play in all 16 games during the season. C Lyle Sendlein, the Cardinals’ third-longest tenured player, originally joined the team as a rookie free agent in 2007 and has played in 103 games (93 starts) in seven years with the team. The Cardinals have had at least one undrafted free agent make the Week 1 roster in four of the last five years.

• Five Cardinals assistant coaches were selected in the NFL Draft:

Defensive Line coach Brentson Buckner (2^nd Round, 1994)

Linebackers coach Mike Caldwell (3^rd Round, 1993)

Asst. Special Teams/Asst Tight Ends coach Steve Heiden (3^rd Round 1999)

Running Backs coach Stump Mitchell (9^th Round, 1981)

Cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross (7^th Round, 1984)

In addition, Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles and Offensive Assistant David Diaz-Infante played in the NFL after originally entering the league as undrafted free agents.

• The Cardinals have drafted a total of 14 players from Arizona colleges since the draft began:

• Arizona State University—9 (last player was S Pat Tillman in 1998)
• University of Arizona—5 (last player was G Yusuf Scott in 1999)