Cardinals draft DL Kaleb Proctor in 4th round

TEMPE — Southeastern Louisiana defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor is heading to the Arizona Cardinals as the No. 104 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

He marks the first defensive player drafted by the Cardinals in 2026. Before landing on Proctor, Arizona took Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick. They followed that pick up with Texas A&M guard Chase Bisontis at No. 34 and Miami quarterback Carson Beck at No. 65.

The first FCS player taken this NFL Draft, Proctor racked up nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss across 13 games for the Lions last season. He was named Southland Conference Player of the Year for his efforts.

He now joins an Arizona DL room looking to take that next step in 2026 after the defense finished with the eighth-worst mark in rushing yards per game (126.9) and ninth in passing yards per game (230.8). It was tied for third-to-last in sacks (30).

2025 first-round pick Walter Nolen III certainly looked the part when he was on the field but only appeared in six games.

2024 first-round Darius Robinson has yet to live up to his draft status after dealing with injury and inconsistency early into his career.

Veteran Calais Campbell, who was second on the team in sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (nine) to only pass rusher Josh Sweat, currently isn’t on Arizona’s roster (or anyone else’s for that matter) as he contemplates retirement.

Roy Lopez, however, is back for his second stint with the team. The Cardinals also added Jonah Williams in free agency and brought back L.J. Collier. Dante Stills returns for year 4.

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