An image of Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins is displayed on stage after he was chosen by the Arizona Cardinals with the 16 pick in the first round of the NFL football draft Thursday April 29, 2021, in Cleveland.
FILE – Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, left, and general manager Steve Keim discuss the upcoming NFL football draft during a news conference in Tempe, Ariz., in this Tuesday, April 16, 2019, file photo. They’ll pick at No. 16 spot in the first round of the NFL Draft, April 29-May 1, 2021, and seem likely to target a defensive player, particularly a cornerback.
Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury is confident that the team’s first two selections in this year’s NFL draft — Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins and Purdue receiver Rondale Moore — are going to have long and productive professional careers.
He also believes those guys can help from Day 1 in the desert. For a team that’s built to win now, that’s an important trait.
The Cardinals are trying to break a playoff drought that extends back to 2015. The franchise nearly made the postseason last year but finished a disappointing 8-8 after losing five of its last seven games.
“We knew we had to get better,” Kingsbury said Saturday. “None of us were pleased with how that thing ended last year. We wanted to improve through the draft and (general manager) Steve (Keim) made it crystal clear to the coaching staff and personnel department, that those first two picks needed to play, play early and play a lot.
“That was the mission and I feel good with where it’s at.”
The Cardinals grabbed Collins with the No. 16 overall pick on Thursday and reeled in Moore at No. 49 on Friday. Arizona spent much of the later rounds filling out defensive depth, particularly in the secondary.
The Cardinals traded up to get Florida cornerback Marco Wilson in the fourth round and added Duke defensive end Victor Dimukeje and Central Florida cornerback Tay Gowan in the sixth. In the final round, they picked Cincinnati safety James Wiggins.
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