A look at the last 10 years of first-round draft picks for the Arizona Cardinals

USA Today

13-04-2025

A look at the last 10 years of first-round draft picks for the Arizona Cardinals Over the last decade, the Cardinals have had several success in the first round and a few duds.
The 2025 NFL draft will commence soon, on Thursday, April 24 with the first round. Rounds 2 and 3 will follow on Friday with the remaining four rounds on Saturday the 26th.
The Arizona Cardinals have selections in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh rounds.
Let's look at the last several years of picks and see how those picks have worked out.
Below are the last 10 years of first-round picks for the Cardinals.
The last 10 years of Cardinals first-round draft picks
2024: WR Marvin Harrison Jr., DL Darius Robinson
2023: OL Paris Johnson Jr.
2022: None (pick traded to Baltimore Ravens for WR Marquise Brown)
2021: LB Zaven Collins
2020: LB Isaiah Simmons
2019: QB Kyler Murray
2018: QB Josh Rosen
2017: LB Haason Reddick
2016: DL Robert Nkemdiche
The disappointments
Nkemdiche was an unfettered bust. He did basically nothing for two seasons, had some production in 2018 on a terrible defense and then tore his ACL and returned overweight.
Simmons had two productive seasons as an inside linebacker in 2021-2022. However, he was moved to defensive back after Jonathan Gannon was hired as head coach, didn't fit what the Cardinals wanted to do in terms of personality or play and was traded. Since then, he has done nothing.
Rosen was the biggest disappointment. Drafted 10th overall with the hope he would be their franchise quarterback, he struggled as a rookie and then, following his trade after Murray was drafted first overall in 2019, did nothing in the NFL after that and washed out of the league.
Robinson's rookie season in 2024 was a disappointment, but not because he looks like a bust. His season was lost to a calf injury that sidelined him half the season and then had his mother die.
The successes
Reddick became a success in his fourth season after floundering for three years, getting 12.5 sacks in 2020. He departed in free agency and, between 2020-2023, he had 50.5 sacks.
Murray has been a success. He won Offensive Rookie of the Year, was selected twice to the Pro Bowl, led the Cardinals to the playoffs and now will enter this season as the longest-tenured starting quarterback the Cardinals have had since moving to Arizona.
Zaven Collins struggled early but is beloved by the coaching staff after he was moved to the defensive edge. He led the team with five sacks in 2024 and, aside from big sack numbers, does everything well for an edge defender.
Johnson looks like he can be a mainstay at left tackle and Harrison had one of the best rookie seasons at receiver in franchise history. He looks like he will be very good.
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