Arizona Cardinals take aggressive draft approach this time
By Jim Koch
An aggressive move during the first round of the NFL Draft nets the Arizona Cardinals a franchise quarterback that they coveted
The Arizona Cardinals apparently learned from a past mistake. General manager Steve Keim was taught a valuable lesson during the first round of last year’s NFL Draft. The Cardinals found out the hard away that a lack of aggression can sometimes prove costly.
It was reported that Arizona was all set to select quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the 13th pick of the 2017 event, but those plans were thwarted. The Kansas City Chiefs leapfrogged the Cards to make the Texas Tech University gunslinger their own. Keim was left holding an empty bag, and ended up drafting linebacker Haason Reddick instead.
A year later, the Cardinals were determined to prevent that from happening again. On Thursday night, it was Keim who became the aggressor. UCLA signal-caller Josh Rosen was the target, and Arizona moved up five slots in a trade with the Oakland Raiders to make sure they landed him.
It was a spectacular move by Keim. Besides parting with the 15th-overall pick, the Cards forked over the second of their two third-rounders and a fifth. A small price to pay for a passer who more than a few experts think is the best quarterback of the 2018 class.
It’s possible that the Cardinals could’ve obtained their prize by simply staying put at #15. But whispers that the Miami Dolphins may have had enough interest in Rosen to take him with the 11th selection was apparently a concern. The deal with the Raiders was proof that Keim felt that was a real possibility.
Next: Arizona Cardinals select local favorite Kirk
A smart organization learns from past blunders. An even smarter one does whatever is necessary to insure that errors aren’t repeated. Kudos to Arizona for making certain that Rosen would not be plucked from their grasp.