Arizona Cardinals Draft Class Superlatives
The Arizona Cardinals have their 2023 NFL Draft class sealed and secured, and they liked what they were able to do.
The Cardinals are expected to go through some tough sledding for the upcoming year, but their assembled talent for 2023 and beyond (on top of their future draft capital) is exciting for fans.
Rookie camp will be under way soon, and while the draft is still somewhat fresh in our heads, lets hand out some superlatives for Arizona's eight-man class:
Most Confident: Clayton Tune
Right off the bat, Houston QB Clayton Tune didn't shy away from his self-belief.
“I think I’m the best quarterback in this class and God’s got a plan for me, so I wasn’t too stressed about it," Tune told reporters after being drafted on Day 3.
"I didn’t have too many expectations, but I’m just happy to be a part of such a great organization and be able to live out my dream. I’m just happy to go in there to work and compete.”
The confidence is a good thing to have, as everybody at least needs a tiny bit of that drive at the next level - especially at the most important position.
Best Value: Garrett Williams
The Cardinals got some great picks in guys such as Paris Johnson Jr. and BJ Ujulari, yet their best value pick could be Syracuse DB Garrett Williams, a third-round pick who could have gone a full round earlier if not for his ACL tear.
"Garrett is a player that we really like. He's played inside, he's played outside. He's extremely tough and physical. He's not the tallest guy, but he plays bigger than his size," said Monti Ossenfort.
"He's productive on the ball. He's a good tackler. So would he have gone higher without the injury? Maybe, maybe not. I don't think anybody can really answer that question. We're excited that we added him though.”
Williams will also have the opportunity to be eased into the fire with Antonio Hamilton and Marco Wilson on the CB depth chart, though Williams should climb his way into more playing time as the season progresses.
Under-the-Radar Pick: Jon Gaines II
UCLA OL Jon Gaines II has played nearly everywhere along the offensive line, which takes a pretty smart cookie to mold to different positions. He played snaps at center, right guard and right tackle during his stay with the Bruins, proving him to be an extremely versatile chess piece for the Cardinals to work with:
“Well, I think you know, he played some center back on the UCLA film, and then seeing it at an all-star game it's not necessarily better competition, but the ability to do that than the pro day, his intellect in meeting with our coaches, meeting with our scouts, clearly mentally he can handle it. He's one of the sharper guys we dealt with all spring," said assistant GM Dave Sears.
So anytime you get a guy who's just a guard or just a center, you guys see how many injuries you get. Guys get shuffled around. So having a guy who's done it, not just projected to do it, so you can look at some tape and see that, that's a very valuable skill set. So we feel like Jon can contribute two positions.”
Gaines could potentially surprise some people at center this season with opportunities to play elsewhere moving forward.
Most Lit: Kei'Trel Clark
Draft day is a very fun day for a few different reason. Some of the best footage and soundbites you'll see are players at their own draft parties surrounded by friends and family.
When it comes to having the best draft party, look no further than Louisville DB Kei'Trel Clark.
"Kei’Trel Clark from Louisville. Another guy that we had a chance to bring in here on a 30 visit—big personality. He's a fun guy to talk to and was having a heck of a draft day party, so when we called him, he was fired up and we're anxious to get him here." - Ossenfort said, who even mentioned Clark was the most fired up prospect they called.
“I would say Kei’Trel Clark was having one heck of a party today. I think he was excited."
Most Superstitious: Dave Sears
Everybody to certain extents has their take on superstitions, which includes Cardinals assistant general manager Dave Sears.
"My colleague, here he's got a superstition that you can't say the player's name up on the board. He said he thinks that jinxes him. if we say, Kei’ Trel Clark's name, he thinks that's going to get him to go before we take him." said Ossenfort following the draft.
“Yeah, I've seen that happen multiple times in a draft room where you start talking about the player and then boom comes right off the board. So that's kind of just like, don't say his name," Sears answered.
Hopefully there was no salt thrown on over the shoulders, and certainly no cracks stepped on entering the facility.
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