Arizona (and Phoenix) Cardinals All-Time Draft Picks Team: Defense

Since the Arizona Cardinals moved to the Valley from St. Louis in 1988, they’ve drafted 278 players — from their very first pick, linebacker Ken Harvey from California in 1988, all the way to last season’s seventh-round pick (and Mr. Irrelevant) Caleb Wilson, a tight end from UCLA.

With that many picks in their team history, yes, it is possible to field a team comprised of nothing but their very own draft picks.

Before general manager Steve Keim adds more talent through the draft later this month, this is as good a time as ever to construct such a team.

After selecting an All-Time Draft Picks Offense for the Cardinals in Arizona, here is their defensive squad:

Defense

DE: Simeon Rice — First-round pick (third overall) in 1996 out of Illinois

The quote machine from Chicago came in and immediately impacted the Cardinals’ defense with 12.5 sacks as a rookie and three double-digit sack totals in his five years in the red and white.

Sure, it ended ugly, and Rice called Arizona the armpit of the NFL before signing a five-year deal with Tampa Bay, where he’d go on to rack up 69.5 sacks and a Super Bowl ring in six years.

DE: Calais Campbell — Second-round pick (50th overall) in 2008 out of Miami

Campbell was a rotation player as a rookie on the NFC Championship team but claimed a starting spot the next season and held on to it for seven years.

The 6-foot-8 giant would earn back-to-back Pro Bowl nods in 2014 and 2015 and signed a free-agent deal with Jacksonville in 2017. Earlier this week, Campbell was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team.

Others considered: Michael Bankston, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Antonio Smith

DT: Eric Swann — First-round pick (sixth overall) in 1991 after playing with the Bay State Titans

A first-round pick who never played a snap of college football? Yeah, that’s not a common scenario, but it’s exactly what the Cardinals did when they drafted Swann in ’91. It paid off.

Swann was a mainstay on the Arizona defensive line for nine seasons and finished with more career sacks (46.5) than any interior defensive lineman in his draft class.

DT: Darnell Dockett — Third-round pick (64th overall) in 2004 out of Florida State

Part of the single-best draft class in franchise history, Dockett had a lock on a starting d-line spot for a decade and missed only two games during that span.

His Cardinals’ career effectively ended in training camp of 2014 when he suffered a severe knee injury. Dockett wrapped up three Pro Bowl appearances and had a memorable three-sack performance in Super Bowl XLIII.

Others considered: Mark Smith, Dan Williams

OLB: Karlos Dansby — Second-round pick (33rd overall) in 2004 out of Auburn

Dansby excelled for the Cardinals, not only in his first stint from his rookie season to 2009, but for one-year returns in 2013 and 2017.

The Auburn product is fourth on the Cardinals’ Arizona list of combined tackles leaders.

OLB: Ken Harvey — First-round pick (12th overall) in 1988 out of California

Harvey, as mentioned previously, was the original Phoenix Cardinal after he was selected out of Cal.

The pass rusher spent six years with the Cardinals and piled up 47.5 sacks, which ranks fourth on the franchise list since 1988.

Like a few other players on this list, he’d go on to have success elsewhere. Harvey was a four-time Pro Bowler for the Washington Redskins after leaving Arizona.

Others considered: Jamir Miller

ILB: Eric Hill — First-round pick (10th overall) in 1989 out of LSU

The Cardinals would add another stud linebacker in their second draft, taking Hill out of the SEC.

Hill spent nine years with the Cardinals and a lot of time around the football, averaging 103.5 tackles per season, with a career-high 131 in 1996.

Others considered: Daryl Washington, Gerald Hayes, Deone Bucannon

CB: Patrick Peterson — First-round pick (fifth overall) in 2011 out of LSU

One of many standouts in a loaded draft class, Peterson made his immediate presence known on special teams when he tied an NFL record with four punt return touchdowns as a rookie.

Over his career, he developed into one of the best shutdown corners in the league, earning eight straight Pro Bowl nods and membership on the NFL’s All-Decade Team.

Peterson has also been durable, never missing a game to injury in his nine-year career.

CB: Aeneas Williams — Third-round pick (59th overall) in 1991 out of Southern

Even though he came out of a small school, it’s hard to believe that 10 defensive backs were drafted before the Cardinals plucked Williams early in the third round.

Williams became a six-time Pro-Bowler and two-time All-Pro in a Cardinals uniform.

In 2014, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, becoming just the second player from his draft class to do so, joining Brett Favre.

Other considered: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Corey Chavous

S: Adrian Wilson — Third-round pick (64th overall) in 2001 out of North Carolina State

Can you believe Wilson wasn’t ever the first defensive back the Cardinals nabbed in 2001? That honor went to Michael Stone, who spent three years as a reserve for the team.

But Wilson was a steal. The physically imposing safety spent 12 years in the Cardinals’ secondary, earning five Pro Bowl invitations and an All-Pro honor in 2009.

S: Tyrann Mathieu — Third-round pick (69th overall) in 2013 out of LSU

Historically, drafting DBs in the third round has worked out incredibly well for Arizona, and Mathieu is another example.

Mathieu was one of the most impactful players we had seen at the college level in quite some time (he finished fifth in the 2011 Heisman voting), but off-the-field issues cost him his spot on LSU’s team and raised plenty of red flags about his pro potential.

Mathieu licked his problems and became a huge part of the Cardinals’ secondary. Many believe the team’s 2015 Super Bowl hopes went up in flames when he suffered a torn ACL late in the regular season.

He was named to the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2010s.

Others considered: Antrel Rolle, Rashad Johnson, Pat Tillman, Budda Baker

K: Bill Gramatica — Fourth-round pick (98th overall) in 2001 out of South Florida

They’ve only drafted two kickers, and Gramatica is the only draftee that’s kicked for them in a real game. Sure, he’s best known for blowing out his knee celebrating a meaningless 43-yard field goal in a regular season game against the Giants, but hey, the pickings were slim.

P: Tom Tupa — Third-round pick (68th overall) in 1988 out of Ohio State

No, the Cardinals didn’t draft Tupa as a punter, but as a quarterback. After throwing six picks in his first NFL start, he switched (or was switched) to punter, where he had a long NFL career.

Actually, Tupa only punted six times as a Cardinal, but he did average 46.7 yards per punt.

KR: LaRod Stephens-Howling — Seventh-round pick (240th overall) in 2009 out of Pittsburgh

“The Hyphen” has more kick return yards (4,047) and touchdowns (3) than any player for the team since they’ve been in town.

PR: Peterson (see above)

ST: Justin Bethel — Sixth-round pick (177th overall) in 2012 out of Presbyterian

He was a devastating special teams player who earned three straight Pro Bowl nods from 2013 to 2015.

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