Biggest draft steals in Cardinals history

Minnesota Vikings v Arizona Cardinals
Minnesota Vikings v Arizona Cardinals | Norm Hall/GettyImages
1 of 4

The Arizona Cardinals have had some great late-round picks in their storied history. These are also known as "draft steals", as impact players falling to the fourth round and on is considered a steal. Usually, teams only expect to find depth in the later rounds but if a player can contribute in a big way, they go down as a steal.

Before we get to the list, some clarifications for this list are that only seven-round drafts are included. The draft was shortened to seven rounds in 1994 so that's as far back as we'll go here.

Let's look at the Cardinals all-time draft steals.

7. Sam Acho

It felt like the Cardinals had a major steal in 2011 after they had selected Sam Acho in the fourth round of that year's draft. Acho immediately broke onto the scene with 7.0 sacks and notched 4.0 sacks in Year 2.

While Acho's sack numbers declined after his first two years, he still ended his four-year stint in Arizona with 13.0 sacks. He played in the league for five more years (four with the Bears and one with the Buccaneers) and ended his NFL career with 18.0 sacks, which is excellent for a fourth-rounder.

Schedule