Arizona Cardinals get quality players on draft’s second day
By Jim Koch
After a controversial first pick, the Arizona Cardinals rebounded by landing some quality players on the draft’s second day
For countless fans of the Arizona Cardinals, what the club did with the first-overall selection of the NFL Draft was disappointing. The drafting of quarterback Kyler Murray, coupled with the offseason mistreatment of Josh Rosen, was hard to take for many. But what’s done is done, so the only choice for loyal followers of the Cards is to accept the mistake and move on.
With all of that now in the rearview mirror, Arizona did a much better job on the draft’s second day. Three players were taken (one acquired with the trade of Rosen), and all have the potential to contribute right away. In fact, if one didn’t know better, you would’ve thought that an outsider was brought in to do the selecting for Cardinals’ general manager Steve Keim.
The positive vibes started at the top of round two (#33 overall) with the addition of Washington’s Byron Murphy. The coveted cornerback was added to a group of veterans, giving the Cards a suddenly impressive-looking stable of cover guys. Murphy excelled for the Huskies last season, tallying 58 tackles, four interceptions and 13 passes defensed in 14 games.
Arizona kept the ball rolling in round two, with one of the two picks that they obtained for Rosen. With the 62nd-overall selection, Keim landed UMass wide receiver Andy Isabella. The smallish pass-catcher (5’9,188) was outstanding in 2018, hauling in 102 receptions for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Minutemen.
The Cardinals zeroed in on a position that was in dire need of some help in the third round. Defensive end Zach Allen was added, and could have a very good chance of starting from day one. The Boston College Eagle racked up 199 tackles,16.5 sacks, two interceptions and 14 pass breakups in his four years at the school.
Next. Cardinals: Who is Byron Murphy?. dark
Kudos to Keim and his cohorts for their excellent work on Friday. The Cards entered the draft with quite a few needs, and three of them were certainly addressed on day two. Let’s hope that they can keep the momentum going on the draft’s final day.