Arizona Cardinals: Small school prospects to watch

These small school prospects may be on the Arizona Cardinals’ radar.

Arizona Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim has a history of drafting small school prospects. This strategy has paid off for the Cardinals, with star running back David Johnson serving as exhibit A. Though Johnson is Keim’s most impressive small school draftee, he is not alone.

Wide receiver John Brown, defensive lineman Rodney Gunter, wide receiver J.J. Nelson, and offensive lineman Earl Watford are all small school products that managed to carve out roles on the Cardinals roster during Keim’s tenure as GM. Defensive back Harlan Miller, who performed well after moving to safety late last season, appears poised to join this list.

The Cardinals 2017 draft board likely includes a number of small school products, and there is a good chance that they will select at least one such player. Like most draft predictions, it is difficult to know which small school products the Cardinals will target. It is possible, however, to identify small school prospects who fit the Cardinals’ system and their positional needs.

With this in mind, I have identified a list of small school prospects that appear to be a fit for the Cardinals. Three additional small school products – offensive lineman Jordan Morgan, linebacker Samson Ebukam, and running back Tarik Cohen – are among my picks in RaisingZona’s staff mock projections. In the interest of parsimony, I will not revisit those players here.

Let’s begin by looking at some small school prospects on the offensive side of the ball.