With Rodney Gunter, Arizona Cardinals prove you can find talent anywhere

TEMPE, Ariz. — To what lengths will an NFL team go to find that proverbial diamond in the rough?

How about over the hill and through the woods to — actually, that would’ve been a much easier path than what the Arizona Cardinals traveled to get a first-hand look at Delaware State defensive end Rodney Gunter.

“First of all, I fly from here on the red-eye to Atlanta to catch a plane to Orlando,” said defensive line coach Brentson Buckner, who was asked by GM Steve Keim to work out Gunter. “You type in the coordinates and it says, ‘all right, you head past Disney.’ I go past Disney. About 70 miles then it’s an exit off. Then I’m just driving down the street and it just said, ‘make a left here.’ I’m like, hold up, there’s nothing back here. And then you go and you turn a corner and all of a sudden you start seeing the houses and stuff. I’m like, this can’t be on the radar.”

A 12-year NFL career prepared Buckner for his role with the Cardinals. He and the team are entering their third season together.

But nothing, Buckner admitted, had prepared him for his journey to Florida.

“Then I get to the school and I’m looking for the field and I call (Gunter), I’m like, ‘where we working out at?’ He’s like, ‘well, go down here, make a right on the dirt road and it’s between the orchard and the graveyard.’ So, I’m like this is a practical joke. They done flew me all the way over here,” Buckner said, laughing. “It’s one of those recruiting trips that you hear guys talk about all the time where I’m in the middle of nowhere. I told them it was like in ‘Blue Chips’ (when) Nick Nolte went to find Shaq. You know what I mean? It was in the middle of a small town, in the middle of nowhere. We were on a field (that) barely had grass. But, it just shows you that you can find talent anywhere.”

Gunter was an unknown.

Despite being a four-year starter and three-time All-MEAC selection at Delaware State, Gunter, who totaled 188 tackles and 18 sacks, did not receive an invitation to the NFL Combine.

Getting overlooked, however, was nothing new.

Delaware State was the only school to offer Gunter a scholarship after he earned All-State honorable mention honors his senior season in high school, the one and only season he played because he had to work to support his family.

“I tried to keep (the expectations) down. They say 6-5; he’s going to be 6-2. They say 305; he’s going to be 275,” Buckner said, referring to his thoughts ahead of the workout. “I get down there and he pulls up. He gets out of the car and I’m like, ‘wow, maybe he is 6-5 or 6-6.’ He still doesn’t look 300 pounds to me, so I’m thinking maybe 285. I asked him how much you weigh. He’s like, ‘well I got on the scales this morning. I’m 305.’ So, I’m like, ‘Wow. All right, maybe they didn’t lie.’ But it was impressive because you look at the guy and you don’t see 300 pounds. You just see a 275-pound kid but it’s packed on well.”

The workout took place on a Sunday morning — “I missed church because I had to work out,” Gunter said — and was just one of many Buckner had either led or watched leading up to the draft.

Buckner, the media was told, returned “frothing at the mouth” at what he had just witnessed.

“I was because I wanted to come back and actually tell (Steve) like I might have seen one of the best defensive line prospects in this draft,” he said. “I had worked out a bunch of guys but as far as his physical tools, movements, being able to naturally bend, long arms, being able to shoot his hands and show strength, I was at the combine, did workouts and I couldn’t name you five guys that had those naturally gifted talents. I just wanted to tell somebody because I just didn’t want to leave out anything, so I’m calling Steve, I’m calling Terry (McDonough, vice president of player personnel), I’m like, ‘man, this guy has the natural tools.’ I don’t know what was happening, why nobody had him on the radar, but from a natural, God-given ability, he has everything you want.”

The Cardinals thought so highly of Gunter that they traded up, swapping fourth round picks with Cleveland (123rd for 116th) plus sent the Browns a sixth (198th) and seventh (241st)-round selection.

Gunter became the first Delaware State player ever drafted by the Cardinals.

He signed his rookie contract Wednesday.

“Great natural ability, still some rawness there but the things he does,” Buckner said. “We spend a lot of time trying to teach people to get it done, but he does it naturally and don’t even know why he’s doing it. That just goes you to show you he’s been blessed with a lot of talent, so now it’s just a matter of getting him to hone it in so now he knows why he’s doing it and how he can be more proficient with it. And with God’s graces maybe he can turn into something.”