The All-Time Arizona Cardinals Team Lineup: Offensive Linemen

Alright folks you probably know the deal by now but just in case let’s do this one last time....

I wanted to try a new exercise where the fans could assemble the all-time team for the Arizona Cardinals in the days leading up to a much anticipated training camp.

Today’s focus: the offensive line!

Here’s how it works...for those who haven’t been following.

You take ONE game on a neutral field, pick the best player and go position by position, with Cards fans voting to assemble the greatest game-day roster of Arizona Cardinals in franchise history, period.

Again: Here’s a few of the rules and guidelines

-All players must have played for the Arizona Cardinals and players must be remembered as Cardinals foremost, or for a majority of their career (aka saying “Boomer Esiason is the greatest Cardinal quarterback ever” because he was a great QB doesn’t count)

-No impossible offensive alignments (ex. putting four tight ends on the field or finding 6 wide receivers)

-Talent wins over longevity (the goal is to find the team you’d take to win in a game) but that doesn’t mean players who played for the Cardinals forever shouldn’t be counted...

-St. Louis Cardinals do count, and if there’s an argument to be made for a Chicago Cardinal they can be included, too.

With that here’s my finalists and ones to vote from for the all time team for the offensive line. With less people it’ll be tough to find candidates so let’s look at the top 5 out of the total that we have here:

Offensive Lineman (5):

Guard (2)

Irv Goode (1962-1973)

Goode started 125 of 140 games with 2 Pro Bowls at left guard. That’s a LOT of playing time, folks. He was immensely talented and played a lot of games with the next man below.

Ken Gray (1958-1969)

162 career games (151 with Arizona) 7 (!) Pro Bowls and one All-Pro award, probably one of the more unsung heroes of the Cardinals on the offensive line.

Conrad Dobler (1972-1977)

80 games in 6 seasons for Arizona saw Dobler make 3 straight Pro Bowls from 75-77.

Lance Smith (1985-1993)

While Smith had 0 Pro Bowls, Smith started over 140 games for the Cardinals and transitioned with them from St. Louis to the desert.

Center (1):

Tom Banks (1971-1980)

Banks made 4 Pro Bowls and One All-Pro all-NFL was awarded to him and he was the team’s starting center for perhaps their best offensive stretch as a team during the 1970’s. He was a big part of that.

Bob DeMarco (1961-1969)

DeMarco started 107 games for the Cardinals, making the Pro Bowl 3 times and was a two-time All-Pro. The Cardinals going from Tom Banks to Bob DeMarco is truly an incredible transition for the team, one they haven’t really seen since.

Lyle Sendlein (2007-2015)

While Sendlein never made a Pro Bowl, he has an incredible story as an undrafted free agent out of Texas having a nearly decade long career and was the starting C for the team’s lone Super Bowl appearance with Kurt Warner at the end of the 2008 season.

Tackle (2):

Dan Dierdorf (1971-1983)

What more can you say about Danny D?

5 time pro bowler, a 3 time all-pro Hall of Fame, Cardinals Ring of Honor and maybe the best lineman AZ’s ever had. He was part of a line that set a record only giving up 8 sacks in a season. Gotta count this guy up there as one of the all-time greats for the Cards at tackle

Luis Sharpe (1982-1994)

Sharpe was a stud left tackle for the Cardinals throughout the 80’s, starting 180 of 192 games and three pro-bowls from 1987-1989. It doesn’t get more consistent than Sharpe was for his play as well.

Ernie McMillan 1961-1974

McMillan was a four-time (four time!) Pro-Bowler for the Cardinals from 1961 to 1974 and he made 3 Pro Bowls, making All-Pro twice as a tackle in a total of 178 games.

Jared Veldheer (2014-2017)

Veldheer’s probably the least notable name on this list, but he locked down the left tackle position for Arizona’s run to the NFC Championship game and brought stability as their probably best offensive lineman in over a decade for Arizona and while it was a short burst of 4 years, it was a highly productive one in the desert.

So who are your picks, Arizona Cardinals fans?

Vote below for your top 2 vote-earning tackles, guards and your top-vote getting center for the all-time team!

Guard:

Center:

Tackle:

Be sure to vote until the 22nd!