Take 2013 for example.
Arizona had selected running back Stepfan Taylor in the fifth round, and when they found themselves on the clock for a second time in the sixth round, sitting atop the Cardinals draft board was another running back, Andre Ellington. Because they had committed to their philosophy of following the board, the Cards went with Ellington. It seemed to have worked out for the better.
“A lot of times, if emotion played into it, you’d say, ‘Well, we already took the back,’” Keim said. “The good thing is we had those conversations and we knew we couldn’t pass on Andre because of his grade.”