Arizona Cardinals Draft Notes

[MadCardDisease]

2005 SELECTIONS
Rd. Name Pos. School Overall
1 Antrel Rolle CB Miami (FL) 8
2 JJ Arrington RB California 44
3 Eric Green CB Virginia Tech 75
3 Darryl Blackstock OLB Virginia 95
4 Elton Brown OG Virginia 111
5 Lance Mitchell ILB Oklahoma 168
7 LeRon McCoy WR Indiana (PA) 226



Did You Know? With three consecutive selections the Cardinals took players from Virginia schools, Eric Green (Virginia Tech), Darryl Blackstock (Virginia) and Elton Brown (Virginia). Blackstock and Brown are both Virginia natives and attended the same high school (Heritage). Coincidentally, the state bird of Virginia is the Cardinal.



The Best Players Available The Cardinals continued to draft effectively for the second consecutive year behind Rod Graves and Dennis Green. In 2004, all seven selections made the roster, with four becoming full-time starters. Of the 255 players selected in the 2004 NFL Draft, only 10 started all 16 games and two of them were Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals nearly had a third player on the list as Darnell Dockett started 15 games. The only game Dockett did not start was at Sea. (12/26) as the Cardinals opened with five defensive backs.

Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona, Round 1, Pick 3)
Dunta Robinson (Houston, Round 1, Pick 10)
Tommie Harris (Chicago, Round 1, Pick 14)
Jason Babin (Houston, Round 1, Pick 27)
Chris Gamble (Carolina, Round 1, Pick 28)
Igor Olshansky (San Diego, Round 2, Pick 35)
Teddy Lehman (Detroit, Round 2, Pick 37)
Alex Stepanovich (Arizona, Round 4, Pick 100)
Erik Coleman (N.Y. Jets, Round 5, Pick 143)
Shane Olivea (San Diego, Round 7, Pick 209)

Going Back to VA
Prior to 2005, the Cardinals had only selected four players from Virginia:
RB Thomas Jones (2001, 7th overall)
RB Quentin Walker (1984, 185th overall)
DT Grant Hudson (1980, 211th overall)
B Sonny Randle (1958, 219th overall)



No Speed Limit in Arizona Cardinals second and third-round selections, RB J.J. Arrington and CB Eric Green have never been accused of being slow. Both Arrington and Green ran faster 40 times than everyone in their respective postions selected in the first round. Here’s a breakdown of the 40 times:

Arrington: 4.39 (campus), 44th overall

Ronnie Brown: 4.4 (campus), 4.43 (combine), 2nd overall

Cedric Benson: 4.55 (campus), 4th overall

Cadillac Williams: 4.46 (campus), 4.5 (combine), 5th overall

Green: 4.38 (campus), 75th overall

Pacman Jones: 4.45 (campus), 6th overall

Antrel Rolle: 4.54 (campus), 8th overall

Carlos Rogers: 4.42 (campus), 9th overall

Fabian Washington: 4.48 (campus), 23rd overall

Marlin Jackson: 4.49 (campus), 29th overall



DAY ONE SELECTIONS

Antrel Rolle:

• Became the first Miami player taken by the Cardinals in the first-round since RB Ottis Anderson in 1979.
• Also the first Miami player to be taken by the Cardinals since WR Jim Joiner in 1981.
• The first defensive back taken since the 2001 draft when Michael Stone (CB), Adrian Wilson (S) and Renaldo Hill (CB) were selected.
• The first defensive back taken in the first round for the Cardinals since Tom Knight in 1997.
• Named to the All-ACC Academic team.
• Graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA.
• Is of no relation to current Baltimore Ravens CB Samari Rolle. Said Antrel: “I actually met Samari last year for the first time. But I ran into him recently, and he said if he got a dollar for every time he was asked that question, he wouldn’t have to play football.”
• Was the second CB selected in 2005 after Pacman Jones (6th overall, Tennessee) and one pick ahead of Carlos Rogers (9th overall, Washington). This marked just the second time since the merger that three CBs were selected in the top 10 picks of the draft since 1997: Shawn Springs (3rd overall, Seattle), Bryant Westbrook (5th overall, Detroit), Tom Knight (9th overall, Arizona).

JJ Arrington:

• Led the nation in rushing yards with 2,018 and was the country’s only 2,000-yard rusher in 2004.
• Earned All-American, All-Pac 10 Conference and Pop Warner Award (top player on the West Coast) honors as a senior.
• His 2,018 rushing yards topped the previous school record of 1,460 set by Chuck Muncie in 1975
• Only Marcus Allen of Southern California gained more yards in a season in Pac-10 Conference history (2,427 in 1981).
• Became the first player since to be drafted by the Cardinals out of Cal since LB Tim Lucas in the 10th round of the 1983 draft.
• Was the 4th RB selected after Ronnie Brown (2nd overall, Miami), Cedric Benson (4th overall, Chicago), and Cadillac Williams (5th overall, Tampa Bay).

Eric Green:

• Won the Virginia Tech President’s Award for leadership in 2004.
• In 47 career games with the Hokies had eight interceptions for 264 yards in returns and two touchdowns. Only Willie Pile (270, 1999-2002) and Ashley Lee (351, 1980-84) gained more yards on interception returns in school history.
• Excelled as a quarterback, receiver and defensive back at Clewiston (Fla.) High School. Played against Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin while in high school. He was born in Boldin’s hometown of Pahokee, FL.
• Blocked four kicks during his Virginia Tech career continuing Virginia Tech’s exceptional special teams tradition under Frank Beamer.
• Spent this past spring training at “Make Plays” in Arizona.

Darryl Blackstock:

• Attended Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy where coach John Shuman called him the best player ever to compete at that school
• Declared for the draft after his junior season where he was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference second-team selection.
• Led the ACC and ranked eleventh in the nation with eleven sacks. That placed him third in the Cavaliers single season record book.
• Spent this past spring training at “Athlete’s Performance Institute” in Tempe.
• Was named College Football News National Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2002 by setting multiple freshman season records with ten sacks and 107 tackle (66 solo), 20 pressures, an interception and four pass deflections.

DAY TWO SELECTIONS
Elton Brown:

• Selected with the 111th overall pick in the draft.
• The second consecutive player selected from Virginia by the Cardinals. The last time the team selected two players from the same school in consecutive rounds was 2000: Ray Thompson (2nd round, 41st overall) and Darwin Walker (3rd round, 71st overall).
• Consensus first-team All-American as a senior in 2004.
• Named the winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the ACC's top blocker in voting by the league's head coaches following his junior and senior seasons. Became just the 10th player in league history to be a two-time recipient and the first guard to win it twice.
• Received the Ben Wilson Award as UVA’s most outstanding offensive player.
• Attended Hampton High School in Virginia along with Cardinals tight end Bobby Blizzard. Also played at Heritage High School in Newport News, VA with Cardinals third-round selection Darryl Blackstock.
• Has a cousin, also named Elton Brown, who played basketball at Virginia and finished 20th on the school’s all-time scoring list.

Lance Mitchell:

• In 2002 named second-team All-American (CNNSI), All-Big Twelve Conference first-team and Big Twelve Newcomer of the Year after transferring from the City College of San Francisco.
• All-American third-team choice by The NFL Draft Report…Consensus All-Big Twelve Conference first-team pick.
• Despite playing just a little over two seasons at Oklahoma, his 32 stops behind the line of scrimmage rank fifth among Sooner linebackers in a career, topped only by Torrance Marshall (36, 1999-2000), Brian Bosworth (39, 1984-86), Teddy Lehman (48.5,2000-03) and Rocky Calmus (59, 1998-2001).

LeRon McCoy:

• Attended Fort Union Military Academy in 2000, a year before Cardinals third-round pick Darryl Blackstock attended the school.
• Attended head coach Dennis Green’s rival high school Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg, PA.
• An aspiring singer, has already recorded a rap CD.
• Doubles as a return man, gained 222 yards on 12 kickoff returns for Indiana.
• Scored 25 touchdowns at Indiana, only two players in school history have ever scored more: Carmelo Ocasio (34, 1999-2002) and Jai Hill (41, 1988-91)