Arizona Cardinals get Supplemental Draft pick
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals made a decent pickup in the NFL Supplemental Draft on Wednesday
The last time the Arizona Cardinals got a draft pick in the NFL’s Supplemental Draft from Washington State, they got quarterback Timm Rosenbach in 1989. At the time some thought he’d be their future at the position.
On Wednesday, it was a little less profile than that but important nonetheless. They added safety Jalen Thompson from WSU. He missed out on the NFL Draft in April because he was trying to return to school for one more year.
Once the NCAA denied his request, his only football option remaining was to go pro, so he entered the Supplemental Draft. Thompson becomes the eighth safety on the 90-man roster entering training camp in two weeks.
Thompson played in all 13 games all three seasons in Pullman for the Cougars. He had six interceptions over the last two seasons, four of them coming in 2017. His four interceptions in ’17 were good for third place in the Pac-12 that season.
He also had 17 passes defensed over his three seasons. You can also include two forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
He finished his college career with 190 tackles. He finished first with 73 tackles on the Cougars squad in ’17 and third with 66 tackles in 2018.
Now the question is as he enters the defensive backfield for the Cardinals, where does he fit? It does figure to be a very competitive position in training camp.
There is Budda Baker from rival Washington, so right there there should already be added competition. Then there is D.J. Swearinger. They figure to be starters as we talked about in our preview of the position recently.
Thompson won’t be the only rookie however competing at safety. The Cardinals also drafted Deionte Thompson out of Alabama. The addition could push hard against Josh Shaw who signed as a free agent back in March.
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The Cardinals do lose a fifth round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft because of the pick. They were the only team to pick a player in the Supplemental Draft.