Arizona Cardinals: 5 former draft picks who excelled elsewhere
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals have had many phenomenal draft picks in their existence. But some played better in other cities than in St. Louis or the desert.
Today, we are counting down five of St.Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals who excelled in the NFL, but with other teams and in other cities. These draft picks were the classic case of asking why they played less-than-perfect football with the Cardinals, only to figure things out elsewhere.
Every single one of these players earned some enviable accolades. And I am sure you have heard of them all. From Jamir Miller to Ken Harvey, to one name on this list you may have never seen coming. Here are the top five Arizona Cardinals draft picks who made their NFL careers elsewhere.
Five Arizona Cardinals draft picks who excelled in other cities: Player #1 – Jamir Miller, LB
Miller actually played well with the Arizona Cardinals, tallying 367 combined tackles and 13.5 sacks in 74 career games. However, his best season came in 1998, just one season before he parted ways with the team for the newly-resurrected Cleveland Browns. That year, he tallied three sacks and 113 combined tackles.
But it wasn’t until his days with the Browns did Miller truly excel. He had two moderately productive season in 1999 and 2000, logging 9.5 sacks and 203 tackles.
But 2001 was truly his breakout season. That year, he had 13.0 sacks, nearly matching the total number of sacks in one season than he had during his five years with the Cardinals. He also finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting while earning First Team All-Pro honors and a trip to the Pro Bowl.
The good times would not last, as Miller tore his Achilles in a 2002 preseason game and never played again. However, despite his short-lived success, Miller put up a near-Defensive Player of the Year performance in 2001. Something he never did as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.