Cardinals failed to see warning signs after drafting Zaven Collins

With the 2021 season now over, the draft selection of linebacker Zaven Collins doomed the Arizona Cardinals from the start.

Remember back in the 2021 NFL Draft, when we thought there’s no way Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim could screw this up? There was no way he would take another linebacker after just taking Isaiah Simmons the year prior.

Of course, Keim panicked and didn’t trade back and feverishly selected former Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins, who gave an absolutely terrible quote of “we’re going to kill everyone,” when asked about how he felt about the upcoming season, moments after he was drafted. Collins also tried to get out of his run-in with the law last summer, which was a pitiful look.

Not to mention, the rookie linebacker was gift-wrapped the starting job over Jordan Hicks, which turned out to be a chasmic lie as Collins only played 20 percent of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps this year. Not playing Collins and giving him the Simmons-like treatment was one of the biggest pseudo-rules Cards fans had for Keim.

Keim didn’t care then, and he shouldn’t be around, as a result, this time.

Arizona Cardinals had warning signs about Zaven Collins but ignored them all

After Collins was drafted, we wrote that Keim had made a mistake with drafting another small school linebacker in the first round.

That same article also mentioned how former Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore was also a lousy selection in the second round, as he wasn’t used down the stretch this season (shocker!).

Improving their secondary in the second round instead of drafting Moore would have probably been a better idea since Arizona had to rely on guys like Breon Borders and Kevin Peterson to play in the defensive backfield this season.

If Keim is somehow still around for the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft, he better get it right and use the team’s picks for need, not luxury/best player available. The Cardinals have already been down that road.