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GM Steve Keim, scouts produce strong 2022 Arizona Cardinals draft class
Prepare to keep this receipt. General manager Steve Keim had a strong 2022 NFL Draft.
The Cards’ architect had a few objectives after a painfully slow free agency period. Give a franchise quarterback Kyler Murray some young weapons and protection on the offensive side of the ball, and fill the pass rush void left by Chandler Jones.
Mission accomplished.
Keim continued “keep Kyler happy” offseason by swinging a trade with the Baltimore Ravens for his good friend and college teammate, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. The move is a cheaper and instant upgrade over Christian Kirk, who exited via free agency to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars for a massive four-year, $72-million contract.
Brown cost the Cards their 23rd overall first-round selection, but six of the top wideouts went before they would have been on the clock.
Hollywood reunites with Kyler and says he is content playing out the remaining two years of his rookie deal. He carries $2.1-million and $13.4-million cap hits in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Brown had been seeking a trade because he wanted to play in a more pass-friendly offense. He became the first Ravens receiver to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards since Mike Wallace in 2017. That was before Lamar Jackson took over the starting quarterback reins in Baltimore.
Keim surprised the NFL world by grabbing the consensus top tight end prospect, Trey McBride, in the second round. The 55th overall pick dominated the Mountain West at Colorado State in 2021. He hauled in 90 catches for 1,121 yards.
McBride bolsters the Cardinals’ tight end room; a position that has been brutal since the team moved to the desert in the late 1980s.
He joins Zach Ertz and Maxx Williams, whom the Cards re-signed this offseason. More like Ertz, McBride projects as a receiving tight end.
In just 11 games after coming over in a trade last season, Ertz had the most receiving yards (574) by a Cardinals tight end since they moved to Arizona, a testament to how futile the position has been.
With the addition of Brown, McBride, and sixth-round running back Keaontay Ingram, the Cardinals got a much-needed youth infusion to Kyler Murray’s playmaking arsenal. That group ranked the oldest in the league before the NFL Draft.
After three seasons at Texas, Ingram transferred to play last season at USC. He doesn’t profile as an every-down back but he could battle third-year running back Eno Benjamin for the Cardinals backup slot. Ideally, Ingram softens the blow of Chase Edmonds leaving for the Miami Dolphins via free agency. He’s a decent receiving back that can be elusive in space.
Brown and McBride should be instant impact makers. Coach and play-caller Kliff Kingsbury could deploy 12-personnel packages with two wide receivers and two tight ends. It could be pretty scary for opposing defensive coordinators to account for DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown, Zach Ertz, and Trey McBride.
Keim was also able to land some intriguing offensive line prospects with a pair of late-round lottery-ticket type picks. Sixth-round guard Lecitus Smith out of Virginia Tech and seventh rounder Marquis Hayes out of Oklahoma are both options to add depth to the Cardinals’ offensive line; two talented guard prospects with value after being selected so late in the draft.
After filling out the Cardinals’ offense with the additions of Brown and McBride, Keim went to work on the pass rush, a group that Keim seems to want to supplement with numbers.
He tabbed a trio of edge defenders to help fill the void of Chandler Jones on the Cardinals’ defense. In the third round, Keim selected Cameron Thomas from San Diego State 87th overall and Myjai Sanders 100th overall. Then in the seventh round, he took Jesse Luketa out of Penn State.
Thomas projected as a fringe first-round pick after starring for the Aztecs. He is in the same tier of pass rushers as George Karlaftis, who went in the first round, and Boye Mafe, a second-rounder.
The Cardinals get a tough run defender that has a relentless motor. He is nearly in the mold of J.J. Watt and can play both inside and outside on the defensive line.
Sanders is also a high motor defender. He plays the run well and is less polished than Thomas but may add more versatility to where the Cardinals want to position him.
There’s a theme here. Luketa is a relentless defender and good against the run. That’s a department where the Cardinals struggled last season. This selection provides excellent value at the back end of the seventh round.
The rookies will join Dennis Gardeck, Devon Kennard, and Victor Dimukeje as the rotation to supplement the pass rush of Markus Golden, J.J. Watt, and Zach Allen. One would think the group could at least replicate Jones’s 9.5 sacks from last season.
The only need that Keim did not address in this draft with a projectable prospect is cornerback. The Cardinals selected Christian Matthew from Division II Valdosta State in the seventh round.
The 6-feet-4 defensive back has good size and might catch on with the Cardinals on special teams. Keim seems content rolling with Byron Murphy Jr., Marco Wilson, Jeff Gladney, and potentially an unsigned veteran in the secondary.
Including Hollywood Brown, Keim added four potential impact makers for the upcoming season and possibly six over the next few seasons. McBride, Thomas, and Sanders will be in a position to contribute. Meanwhile, Ingram and the guards need to have strong training camps to earn some opportunities in 2022.
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