The Arizona Cardinals and General Manager Steve Keim have a type when it comes to planning out the team’s future.
“The mental makeup of the guys we drafted is something I’m really excited about,” Keim told ArizonaSports.com. “I think one of the things about the particular players that we drafted, they were complete players. When I say ‘complete player,’ we always say, ‘Do they play hard? Do they play smart? Do they play physical?’ Can you check those boxes?”
Keim insists the same principles apply, no matter where the team might find itself on the draft board.
“Regardless of where you’re going to go in the draft, whether you have leadership and all those intangibles, and every one of those guys that we took today are high character, very physical, very tough intense players. And again, you can’t have enough of those guys in your locker room,” he said.
Given that, Keim insists he’s surprised the Cardinals were able to land all the players they did back in late April.
“I just think a couple of these guys, they may not have all the bells and whistles, but at the end of the day, how many times have you seen on TV that a fifth-, sixth-, seventh-round pick became a real player?” he said. “That’s because of one thing or another and generally it’s because of the mental makeup.”
All in all, the Cardinals feel good about their draft day haul of tight end Trey McBride (Colorado State), defensive ends pass Cam Thomas (San Diego State) and Mayjai Sanders (Cincinnati) paying dividends now and in the future.
“You can never have enough guys like that,” coach Kliff Kingsbury added of McBride. “With his athleticism, the pass-catching ability, being able to play that move F-Back, H-Back and In-Line Y. “Just tremendous upside, tremendous athlete. The character is through the roof.”
In the sixth round, the Cardinals added former USC running back Keaontay Ingram, who adds depth to a backfield led by veteran James Conner. Later, the team secured offensive linemen Lecitus Smith (sixth round) and Marquise Hayes (seventh round), cornerback Christian Matthew and linebacker Jesse Luketa.
With training camp just weeks away, the Cardinals, who’ve already added veteran receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown as another weapon for quarterback Kyler Murray, are still considered far from done in terms of adding to their roster.
With the Ravens last season, Brown grabbed 91 catches for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns.
“To be able to add a guy like this is, particularly in today’s market with the numbers and where they’re going, having two years of control-cost and to have the vertical threat that he provides is really big,” Keim said. “He’s been very durable too. Nowadays when you see these guys they’re generally slots or outside receivers. This guy gives you a number of different options because of his explosiveness.”
