Draft History: Cardinals successful everywhere except at quarterback
Draft History: Cardinals successful everywhere except at quarterback
The Cardinals have gone through several moves, from Chicago to St. Louis to the Arizona desert, and through the years, the team has prominently been built through the Draft. The franchise has drafted a star at almost every position except the most important one, quarterback. Arizona’s all-time passing leader, Jim Hart, was an undrafted free agent. The next two best in yards, Neil Lomax and Jake Plummer, were both drafted by the team but had losing records, and Super Bowl XLIII starter Kurt Warner was signed as a free agent. The Cardinals hope the trend changes with 2019 top pick, Kyler Murray.
Some Arizona draft picks have also become stars for other teams, including Vikings wide receiver Ahmad Rashad (Round 1, Pick 4 in 1972), Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek (Round 6, Pick 158 in 1985), Chiefs tight end Fred Arbanas (Round 2, Pick 22 in 1961) and Jets Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath (Round 1, Pick 12 in 1965).
BEST
10. Freddie Joe Nunn, DE/LB (Round 1, Pick 18 in 1985) – Although Cardinals draft picks have had more sacks in their careers, none posted more than Nunn’s 66½ with the franchise. He was a star as the team moved west, registering 11 sacks in the team’s last season in St. Louis (1987) and 14 more during the team’s first year in Phoenix. Despite nine years of harassing opposing quarterbacks at both defensive end and linebacker, Nunn never made a Pro Bowl or played in the postseason with the Cardinals.
9. (tie) Charlie Trippi, RB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 1945) and Ollie Matson, RB (Round 1, Pick 3 in 1952) - Neither Trippi nor Matson approach the career totals of the club’s top running back (who appears a bit later on the list), but both were essential to team success. Trippi was a Hall of Famer and part of the “Million Dollar Backfield” that helped bring home the 1947 NFL Championship. The two-time Pro Bowler and 1948 All-Pro ran for 84 yards and a touchdown in the 28-21 win over the Eagles. The Cardinals tried for a second title in a row but Trippi ran for just 26 yards during a snowstorm and Philadelphia prevailed, 7-0. Matson starred as both a running back and a kick returner, and he made six Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams during the 1950s. The all-purpose back and former Olympic track star was traded for nine players in 1959, none of which made any impact with the team.
8. Calais Campbell, DE (Round 2, Pick 50 in 2008) – Like Nunn, Campbell was underappreciated in Arizona. He ranks third in team history with 56½ sacks but only made the Pro Bowl twice in nine seasons (he has been selected all three years since signing with Jacksonville). As a rookie, Campbell had two tackles in each of the club’s four playoff games, including a Super Bowl XLIII loss to the Steelers. He finished his Arizona stay with 501 tackles, 42 passes defensed and three interceptions.
7. Roger Wehrli, CB (Round 1, Pick 19 in 1969) – The Hall of Famer from Missouri ranks third in team history with 40 interceptions and tops the franchise list with 22 fumble recoveries. Wehrli was named to seven Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams, but St. Louis made the playoffs just three times during his 14 seasons.
6. (tie) Jackie Smith, TE (Round 10, Pick 129 in 1963), Roy Green (Round 4, Pick 89 in 1979) and Anquan Boldin, WR (Round 2, Pick 54 in 2003) – Not an easy choice between players ranked 2, 3 and 4 in receiving yards in team history. Boldin was fourth at 7,520, but he was second with 586 catches and fifth with 44 touchdowns. The 2003 Offensive Rookie of the Year also had five 1,000-yard seasons with Arizona and was a key piece in the team’s run to Super Bowl XLIII. Green ranks second with 8,496 yards and 66 scores, and sits fourth with 522 catches. The two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro topped the NFL with 14 touchdowns in 1983 and 1,555 yards the following year. Smith was a rare productive player coming out of the 10th round. He is third in team history (and tops at the tight end spot) with 7,918 yards and sixth with both 480 receptions and 50 scores. The Hall of Famer went to five Pro Bowls, including 1967, when he set career highs with 56 catches, 1,205 yards, and nine touchdowns.
5. Dan Dierdorf, T (Round 2, Pick 43 in 1971) – Before knee injuries wore him down, Dierdorf was one of the premier offensive tackles in the NFL. In 13 seasons, he was selected to the Pro Bowl six times and was a three-time All-Pro. Although the team didn’t have much playoff success, Dierdorf was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He has been a broadcaster at the college and profession level since 1984.
4. Ottis Anderson, RB (Round 1, Pick 8 in 1979) – “O. J.” is the all-time franchise leader with 7,999 yards and 46 touchdowns. He started strong, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year, All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors after rushing for 1,605 yards and eight touchdowns in 1979. The following year, he ran for 1,352 yards and nine scores and made his second (and final) Pro Bowl. In all, he had five 1,000-yard seasons with the Cardinals, but injuries limited his effectiveness, and he was traded to the Giants midway through the 1986 season. He won two titles in New York and scored in both games, including a 21-carry, 102-yard performance that earned him MVP honors in Super Bowl XXV.
3. Aeneas Williams, CB (Round 3, Pick 59 in 1991) – Like many others on this list, Williams played very well on poor Cardinals teams. The Hall of Famer ranks second in team history with 46 interceptions and returned a franchise-best six for touchdowns. Williams also recovered 14 fumbles and returned two for scores. The two-time All-Pro in Arizona also went to six Pro Bowls, his first coming in 1994, when he led the NFL with nine picks.
2. Larry Wilson, CB (Round 7, Pick 74 in 1960) – Speaking of interceptions, Wilson tops the team list with 52 and returned five for touchdowns. He also matched Williams with 14 fumble recoveries and two scores. Wilson has a long list of accolades: Hall of Famer, eight Pro Bowls, five straight All-Pro selections, a league-leading 10 picks in 1966. However, one thing that evaded him was appearing in the postseason, since his entire career was enveloped by the Cardinals’ 25-year playoff drought.
1. Larry Fitzgerald, WR (Round 1, Pick 3 in 2004) – “Larry Legend” holds every major team receiving record, and also ranks second in NFL history with 1,378 catches and 17,083 yards, and currently is sixth all-time with 120 touchdowns. Fitzgerald has 11 Pro Bowl selections, nine 1,000-yard seasons and one All-Pro honor. That same season (2008), he had nine receptions for 152 yards and three touchdowns in a win over the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game and followed that performance with seven catches, 172 yards and two scores in a loss to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII. Fitzgerald was selected as a co-winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2016 with Eli Manning, who has drafted two picks before him. At this point, you can only wonder what the Raiders were thinking when they drafted Robert Gallery second overall.
WORST
10. J. V. Cain, TE (Round 1, Pick 7 in 1974) –Many of the players in the lower part of these “worst” lists end up here not because they were a draft bust the caliber of a Ryan Leaf or Tim Couch, but because of injury or, in this case, tragedy. Cain took over for Smith as the team’s starting tight end, and he had put together two solid years, but injury took away his 1978 season. During the following year’s training camp at Lindenwood College in St. Charles, a suburb of St. Louis, intense heat led to Cain’s death by a heart attack on July 22, 1979, his 28th birthday. His death came five years after his mother died during training camp in his rookie season. Cain’s number 88 was retired by the team.
9. Larry Stegent, RB (Round 1, Pick 8 in 1970) – A star on Texas A&M’s Cotton Bowl-winning squad in 1968, Stegent suffered a knee injury in his first preseason game and was never the same. In two seasons, he played in just seven games, had one catch for 12 yards and did not have any rushing attempts. He is a longtime owner and CEO of an insurance agency in Houston.
8. George Izo, QB (Round 1, Pick 2 in 1960) – The Cardinals got much better production out of Charlie Johnson, who was taken in the 10th round (14,928 yards, 108 touchdowns, and a 1963 Pro Bowl selection) than they did with Izo, who chose to sign with St. Louis instead of the AFL’s Titans of New York (later the Jets). Izo took over the starting spot early in his rookie season, but his year ended early after re-aggravated a knee injury he suffered in college. He bounced around from Washington to Detroit to Pittsburgh before retiring in 1967. He later used his Business Administration degree from Notre Dame to participate in a venture that built condominiums in the Bahamans, and then become a partner in a wholesale food company. His NFL claim to fame was tying a league record with a 99-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Mitchell with the Redskins in 1963.
7. Steve Pisarkiewicz, QB (Round 1, Pick 19 in 1977) – This choice falls squarely on the shoulders of owner Bill Bidwill, who wanted the Missouri product to replace Jim Hart. Instead, Pisarkiewicz played in nine games over two seasons with the Cardinals, starting four. He got into one game with the Packers in 1980, but left the NFL. He had stints in Canada, with the short-lived USFL, then had stops in Europe with teams in Cardiff, Wales, Birmingham, England, Dublin, and Barcelona. The Vikings drafted Pro Bowler Tommy Kramer at pick 27 and the Cowboys selected longtime NFL quarterback Steve DeBerg in the 10th round.
6. Clyde Duncan, WR (Round 1, Pick 17 in 1984) – Duncan was part of the “Wide Receiver U” team at Tennessee that also included future NFL players Willie Gault and Tim McGee. Duncan lost some time as a rookie due to a contract dispute, then separated his shoulder. He was released after catching only four passes in 1985. He never latched on another team’s roster and died in 2015 at age 54.
5. Kelly Stouffer, QB (Round 1, Pick 6 in 1987) – Despite his high draft status and Neil Lomax nearing the end of his career, Stouffer decided to hold out the entire season. As the team was moving from St. Louis to Phoenix, they were also moving on from Stouffer, trading him to Seattle for three draft picks. He amassed a 5-11 record and 2,333 passing yards in four seasons with the Seahawks. Meanwhile, four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro Rich Gannon was drafted 98th by the Patriots and probably would have been easier to sign.
4. Josh Rosen, QB (Round 1, Pick 10 in 2018) – Some people would think it’s unfair that this recent of a draft pick would be this high on a “worst picks” list, but Rosen struggled to a 3-10 record after replacing the similarly ineffective Sam Bradford in 2018. He was traded to Miami, where he went 0-3 in relief of Ryan Fitzpatrick. In his two seasons, he has 12 touchdowns, 19 interceptions, and 11 fumbles. The Cardinals ended up drafting Kyler Murray this year, but reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson was available after Arizona took Rosen.
3. Wendell Bryant, DT (Round 1, Pick 12 in 2002) – The two-time Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year had his professional career shortened by poor choices. Bryant had 1½ sacks in 29 games over three seasons, but a third violation of the league’s substance-abuse policy resulted in a one-year suspension, and he never returned to the NFL. He was drafted by the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League in 2009, but spent the year on injured reserve.
2. Andre Wadsworth, DE (Round 1, Pick 3 in 1998) – Knee injuries and attitude issues did in Wadsworth, who was an All-American and the ACC Player of the Year in 1997. He held out for money closer to what the top two picks that year (quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf) were getting, and he signed a six-year, $42 million contract the night before the season-opener. He started 15 games as a rookie, posting 57 tackles and five sacks, but then endured three surgeries on his right knee and one on his left over the next two years. The Cardinals released him after the 2000 season. He had a workout with the Buccaneers and signed with the Jets in 2007, but New York released him in their last round of roster cuts and he never played again.
1. Matt Leinart, QB (Round 1, Pick 10 in 2006) – Some of the knock-on Leinart was not his fault. His 2004 season included a Heisman Trophy and a National Championship, but the title was wiped out thanks to USC running back Reggie Bush and basketball star O. J. Mayo accepting gifts from agents. Leinart held out during his first training camp, but eventually started in place of Kurt Warner and set a rookie record with 405 passing yards in a 10-6 loss to the Vikings. His second season was ruined by a fractured collarbone and Warner emerged in 2008 to lead the Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII. Warner retired in 2010, but Derek Anderson earned the starting job and Leinart was released. He spent the next two years as a backup in Houston and Oakland, then lost out to Thad Lewis after signing with Buffalo in 2013. Since his playing days ended, Leinart is a college football analyst on FOX, works as a real estate agent and operates a foundation that provides athletic opportunities to underprivileged youths. He was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
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-By: Kevin Rakas
Writer