You can feel the excitement. Kyler Murray came in for an official visit on Tuesday, and social media went nuts. Fans can’t wait for the smoke screens to be blown away finally, and to see who the teams pick will be. The Arizona Cardinals are on the clock for 15 more days.
Yesterday we looked at the history of No. 16 within the Cardinals franchise. Jake Plummer is perhaps the most well-known player on that list just because of his standing within the state of Arizona, first as the Quarterback at ASU, and then the Cardinals. Today marks only 15 days until the NFL Draft opens. And since we sit at 15 days, we take a look at the history of No. 15 in the Cardinal red.
Neil Lomax opens up our list. Lomax was the Cardinals second-round pick in the 1981 NFL Draft. Lomax saw time in 14 games his rookie season, picking up seven starts. He finished that year 4-3, despite only throwing four touchdowns to his ten interceptions. A shortened 1982 season saw him start in all nine games, going 5-4 and throwing five touchdowns to six interceptions.
Lomax would settle in after a rough statistical start to his career. He would throw more touchdowns than interceptions the rest of his career, finishing with 136 touchdowns to 90 interceptions to wrap up his career. His career record was less impressive, finishing 47-52-2 to end his career.
Lomax could never stay on the field, however, only playing in two full seasons during his eight-year career. He would be elected to two Pro Bowls during his career.
Steve Breaston would dawn the jersey in 2007 as the teams fifth round pick. Breaston would have a good career with the Arizona Cardinals before the team would part with him after the 2010 season. Breaston would retire early, as his knees began to deteriorate during his tenure in Kansas City. Breaston was an exciting player; in fact, this one of the first plays I can remember about him.
Michael Floyd could never reach the potential that fans had hoped he could. The Cardinals would use their 13th overall pick in the 2012 draft on the wide receiver from Notre Dame. Floyd would only surpass the 1000 yard mark once in his career, and that was in his sophomore season.
Floyd was an excellent complimentary piece in Bruce Arians offense and was a contributor in the teams 2015 season, the best in franchise history. Floyd would be released the following season after a DUI. He would ultimately win a Super Bowl with the Patriots that year.
Currently, Malachi Dupre has the No. 15. Dupre joined the team late last season after he was released from the Seahawks practice squad. Dupre was initially signed to Arizona’s before he was activated in the teams final game of the season.
The No. 15 jersey has some success in team history, even if it’s mediocre or average. For a franchise as old as the Cardinals’ they have not had the benefit of having as many great players as you would expect. Can Malachi Dupre become the Arizona Cardinals first star to wear the jersey? Or will the fans have to wait?
We continue our countdown to the NFL draft. Stick with Raising Zona for our Draft Coverage.