15 all-time greatest draft picks in Arizona Cardinals history

The 6th-best Arizona Cardinals draft pick ever: Ottis Anderson

Ottis Anderson runs up to the sixth spot on this list as no other Cardinals running back has come close to him since he played. Drafted in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft, the former Hurricane made a splash in his short, seven-year stint with the Cardinals.

In his very first game (much like Boldin on this list earlier), he exploded for 193 rushing yards and one touchdown, which was just the start of Anderson’s 1,605 yards in his rookie year.

Anderson’s 7,999 rushing yards are in a class of their own, as the next closest is Stump Mitchell, with 4,469 yards. Anderson made the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons with the Cardinals, but that’s all he would make. He had five 1,000-yard seasons in seven years with big red.

What’s even crazier is that when Anderson was seven years into the league, he was already the NFL’s 11th-best rusher in terms of rushing yards. How crazy is that?

Sadly, Anderson didn’t finish his career with the Cardinals. Like almost every other Cardinal great, they either left, retired, or grew to hate the team so much that they never wanted to return.

The Giants got away with highway robbery in a trade with the Cardinals in 1986 when they sent a second and seventh-round pick for Anderson. Anderson would go on to win two Super Bowls with the Giants and was named Super Bowl XXV MVP.

Surprisingly, Anderson isn’t in the Hall of Fame, which is a complete travesty. Anderson is 65 years old.