ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo
Cardinals take S Deone Bucannon. He was 1 of 4 DBs with 100 tackles in each of the past 2 seasons #AZpick
Bruce Feldman @BruceFeldmanCFB
Cardinals just took the bigger hitter in the draft. Deone Bucannon will be a staple on Sunday highlight shows. He and Mathieu will be fun
Eric Galko @OptimumScouting
Deone Bucannon is a reach on our board, but I had heard he was considered a probable 1st in past few days. Bucannon/Peterson/Mathieu is fun.
Chris Burke @ChrisBurke_SI
Actually like Bucannon quite a bit. Just thought he would go in the 50 range.
Evan Silva @evansilva
New #Cardinals SS Deone Bucannon is 6'1/211. Led Pac 12 in tackles last yr. 15 career INTs. 1st-tm All American. Ran 4.49 in Indy. Striker.
Shawn Zobel @ShawnZobel
Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, Deone Bucannon, Antonio Cromarite....good luck
Darren Urban @Cardschatter
Arians on Bucannon: "We'll give him opportunities to knock the crap out of people."
Cardinals selected Washington State S Deone Bucannon with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
Bucannon (6-foot-1, 211) was a first-team All-American in 2013 after leading the Pac 12 in tackles (114) and tying for the conference lead in interceptions (6). His 15 career picks rank third in Wazzu history. Bucannon is a striker with speed (4.49) and explosive short-area athleticism (10-foot-5 broad jump). His cover skills are a work in progress, but Bucannon is ready to play "in the box" in the pros, and at very least will pose an immediate force on special teams. The Cardinals needed an upgrade next to Tyrann Mathieu, and Bucannon will at the very least be the No. 3 safety as a rookie alongside Mathieu and Rashad Johnson.
Cardinals selected Notre Dame TE Troy Niklas with the No. 52 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
Niklas (6-foot-6 1/2, 270) is a gargantuan tight end following in the Fighting Irish footsteps of Anthony Fasano, John Carlson, Kyle Rudolph, and Tyler Eifert. He profiles most similarly to Fasano as a heavy-footed possession receiver who'll spend most of his NFL snaps in an in-line stance. Niklas caught 32 passes for 498 yards (15.6 YPR) and five touchdowns in 2013, before recording a 32-inch vertical, 9-foot-6 broad jump, and 27 bench reps at the Combine. At the Combine, Bruce Arians discussed the importance of blocking for tight ends in his scheme. Niklas fits this better than anyone.
Cardinals selected North Carolina DE Kareem Martin with the No. 84 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
Martin (6-foot-5 7/8, 272) was a three-year starter for the Heels, registering 44 tackles for loss with 19 sacks and four forced fumbles. Blessed with impressive length (35-inch arms), Martin made waves at the Combine with a 4.72 forty, 35 1/2-inch vertical and highly explosive 10-foot-9 broad jump. Productive, smart (31 Wonderlic) and athletic with an ideal build, Martin needs to get stronger and polish his technique, but offers a Justin Tuck-ish ceiling as a versatile and imposing inside-out lineman. He's a nice addition for a front seven that was a strength last season.
Cardinals selected Pittsburgh State WR/KR John Brown with the No. 91 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
Brown (5-foot-10, 179) was a three-time D-2 All American, finishing his career with school records in catches (185), receiving yards (3,380), and touchdowns (32). He averaged 32.4 yards per kick return as a senior, and 11.5 yards on punts. With blazing 4.34 speed, Brown offers homerun-hitting return ability with some potential to contribute as a No. 3 or 4 receiver. He could help on special teams, but is an unlikely fantasy prospect -- especially behind Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and Ted Ginn.
Arizona coach Bruce Arians confirmed the team is unlikely to use CB Patrick Peterson as a wide receiver or kick returner after adding WR Ted Ginn Jr. in free agency and drafting WR John Brown in the third round.
The Cardinals tried and failed to get Peterson involved in the offense last season, and it seems that experiment is officially over. Ginn Jr. is expected to handle the kick and punt returning duties and help the offense as a situational deep threat. Brown can also help as a returner and brings blazing speed the wide receiver corps. Peterson can now focus on his main job as top-flight corner.
Source: Arizona Republic
NEW YORK -- With a two-time BCS national champion in AJ McCarron, the SEC's all-time leading passer in Aaron Murray, and one of the NFL draft's late, hot names in Tom Savage still available, the Arizona Cardinals made Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas the first quarterback chosen on the draft's final day Saturday.
Thomas was taken No. 120 overall in the fourth round, giving coach Bruce Arians something he appreciates more than most: a cannon-strong arm that can deliver the football vertically like few others. But he also inherits an unfinished project in the 6-foot-6, 248-pound Thomas, who was inconsistent at the college level and is lacking in accuracy, according to scouts.
Thomas' velocity was measured at 60 mph at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, the best such recording in the past seven combines. Yet, he may have been drafted as much for his overall athleticism as his passing arm, as some scouts have suggested his future is at the tight end position.
Thomas struggled at the Reese's Senior Bowl, but with Cam Newton-like size and plenty of arm strength, Arians has something to work with for his fourth-round investment, presuming he is developed as a quarterback.
"Give me this clay ... and let me teach him the game. ... Let me chisel away," Stanford coach David Shaw, a guest draft analyst on NFL Network, said Saturday of Arians' logic.
Added NFL Media draft analyst Mike Mayock: "He's got 25 or 30 (game) tapes out there. Twenty-three of them are bad."
LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger, another quarterback Arians passed on for Thomas, was Mayock's best available player at the time of the pick. George Whitfield, the private quarterback coach for both Thomas and Cleveland Browns' first-round pick Johnny Manziel, was quick with congratulations on social media:
George Whitfield Jr. @georgewhitfield
Congrats to Coach Arians! What a great match.. #grinder #talent #supernova #dimecity pic.twitter.com/FI4AvaQ85x
The Thomas pick might leave the draft's remaining quarterbacks with one fewer possible destination. Other clubs that could invest a Day 3 pick in a quarterback include the Tampa Bay Buccanners, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
SI_DougFarrar @SI_DougFarrar
2013: Peterson: 90 targets, 49 rec. 688 yards, 7 TDs, 3 INT, 91.3 QB rating. Sherman: 58 targets, 30 rec. 421 yards, 2 TD, 8 INT, 47.3 QBr.
SI_DougFarrar @SI_DougFarrar
Don't get me wrong... Peterson is a REALLY good CB. But those numbers are... interesting.
The Cardinals have brought in Dr. Jen Welter as a training camp/preseason inside linebackers coaching intern.
Welter is the first ever female coach in the NFL. Just about four months after the NFL hired its first woman official in Sarah Thomas, coach Bruce Arians is giving Welter a chance to impress as a coach. Welter is a Doctor of Sports Psychology and had been working as a coach for the Texas Revolution of the Indoor Football League. Arians openly supported woman coaches at the owners meetings.
It's quiet in the desert.3 whole pages of Arizona fan thread since 2012?