This is just too good of an article not to post
So credit The Athletic and Scott Bordow.
If you want daily updates and stories on the Cardinals and their players it's a great subscription
Welcome to Part 2 of The Athletic’s sit-down with Cardinals general manager Steve Keim and his video breakdown of Arizona’s top six draft picks.
Last week Keim analyzed four highlights of quarterback Kyler Murray, the No. 1 pick overall.
In this second installment, Keim focuses on cornerback Byron Murphy, wide receivers Andy Isabella and Hakeem Butler, defensive end Zach Allen and safety Deionte Thompson.
Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
One of the things that sold Keim on Murphy was the teaching he received from Washington co-defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake.
“The University of Washington is one of the few teams in college football … that play a variety of stuff,” Keim said. “They just don’t play man press or zone. They play off, they play man, they do a lot of different things from a coverage standpoint.”
The Cardinals had Murphy as the fifth highest-ranked player on their draft board for three reasons: His ability to play any type of coverage, both in the slot and as an outside corner, the quickness with which he got out of his backpedal and his tackling ability.
“This guy has natural anticipation and quick feet,” Keim said. “He’s not the biggest, he’s not the straight-line fastest but he’s got great anticipation and feel and he has terrific transition quickness in coming out of his breaks.
“One of the hardest things to me for cornerbacks to do is to be able to play off coverage and watch both the quarterback and the receiver. This guy’s natural feel and instincts for it to me are what set him apart from a lot of corners. You watch his feet and his movement skills, there no wasted steps. He’s very precise.
“We just thought he was the complete package. He could do it all. If he ran a 4.3 he might have been a top-10 pick in my opinion. The fact he ran 4.49, that’s plenty fast. Again, it’s more about the quickness.”
Keim said Murphy’s ability to tackle and “play big” reminds him of Brent Grimes, a four-time Pro Bowl corner who played for Tampa Bay last season.
“His toughness for being a corner … a lot of those guys are not great tacklers as we know,” Keim said. “He’s a solid wrap tackler who isn’t afraid to put his face in there. That’s so important. Nowadays the way NFL teams are running the football they’re forcing your corners to tackle. You’re going to make a guy tackle all day and eventually they’re either going to get tired or scared or not want to tackle and you’re going to break some big runs.”
Andy Isabella, WR, UMass
Isabella had 102 catches for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, giving Keim dozens of highlights to choose from. But the first play on the big screen is a touchdown catch against Georgia. Isabella not only had a huge day against an SEC team – 15 catches, 219 yards, two touchdowns – it’s the way he set up defenders with his route running that impressed Keim.
It’s hard to tell in this clip but midway through the pattern Isabella does a little head nod to freeze his defender.
“I think it’s his attention to detail, how a guy like this to me is someone who works on his craft,” Keim said. “It’s not just the fact he can go out and run fast (Isabella ran a 4.3 40.) It’s the little details of the head nod or shifting his weight and disguising routes.
“A lot of times guys on a double move, they’ll stop, shuffle their feet, drop their weight. He does that but this little head nod is another thing he’s perfected to throw defenders off.”
Isabella often has been likened to slot receivers like Julian Edelman or Danny Amendola but Keim believes that’s a lazy comp. He said Isabella’s route running and 4.3 speed reminds him of Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Brandin Cooks, a first-round pick in the 2014 draft.
“The way they’re built and the way they run,” Keim said.
Isabella likely will play in the slot but Keim moved on to another clip against Georgia to illustrate the fact that Isabella shouldn’t be thought of as strictly a possession-type receiver.
“They fooled the defense (with the run fake) but what it shows you is how talented he is and what he does after the catch,” Keim said. “These guys all catch up because the ball is underthrown but his ability to make them miss … he turns on the jets and the guys with angles he outruns them. You know those people in Georgia were going, ‘Who the hell is this kid?’”
Zach Allen, DE, Boston College
Allen’s perceived lack of athleticism – he ran a 5.0 40-yard dash – was a big reason he dropped into the third round but Keim loved his effort and ability to play multiple positions. Allen will start as a five-technique defensive end in Arizona’s 3-4 defense but Keim believes he can be shifted inside as well and, in an emergency, be used as an outside linebacker.
“You see the way he’s built but he plays so much more athletic than you would think,” Keim said. “But the great thing about him is he plays with perfect technique and he has great instincts. And he plays extremely hard.
“A lot of times in scouting you go out and watch the tape and you’re like, ‘This guy is a really good football player.’ And then in the spring, he didn’t quite run the 40 that everybody wanted to run. He didn’t jump as high. He didn’t do well in all the bells and whistle events at the combine. This is a guy that if you just watch the film and graded him on the film he ranked way up there.”
Keim cued up a clip of Allen, in a goal-line stand, pressing an offensive lineman with one arm and then, as the play flows the other way, pulling down the ball carrier.
“This is harder than you think,” Keim said. “When you’re playing against the flow of the offensive line and all of a sudden you have to stop in your tracks and make the tackle, it’s pretty impressive.”
As he watched the clip, Keim also pointed out something Allen does that he believes is imperative for players: He’s a “natural knee-bender.”
“I don’t care what position you play in the NFL. To me the really great ones are able to bend their knees,” Keim said. “I don’t care if you’re a corner, an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman. If you play straight-legged you don’t play with any power in your hips.”
Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State
It’s not surprising that the Cardinals, after selecting Isabella, went with a big receiver in the 6-foot-5, 227-pound Butler. Last season for Texas Tech, 6-foot-6 receiver T.J. Vasher was a staple in Kliff Kingsbury’s passing attack using his size on 50-50 balls, fade patterns and in the red zone.
Keim believes Butler, who runs a 4.48 40, can be that sort of weapon for Arizona, as evidenced by a touchdown catch against Oklahoma in 2018.
“The one thing that stood out to me the first time I watched him is his stride length,” Keim said. “He takes three steps and it’s almost like he’s five yards already. Not only that but the kind of target he is, his catching radius and how he can box out smaller defenders. I don’t care what the coverage is. What corner is going to be able to stop him if he’s walling him off and using his body to his advantage?”
Butler is far from a polished product. He dropped 12 passes last season, which Keim attributes to “concentration” and, he hopes, will not be an issue as he’s mentored by Larry Fitzgerald. Also, Butler’s size can be a detriment as well. Keim said Butler will predominantly be a one-cut runner because “usually big guys like this struggle to drop their weight and get in and out of routes.”
Still, this clip from Iowa State’s Alamo Bowl game against Washington State shows why the Cardinals believe Butler was a steal with the first pick in the fourth round.
“This guy’s stride length and size and ability to catch the ball away from his body … it’s so tough on defenders because it’s hard to gauge how fast he’s moving,” Keim said. “For as big as he is, to run a 4.48, it’s one of those deals where defensive backs get in their pedal and it’s, ‘Oh, poo,’ and the guy is on top of them in two seconds.”
Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama
Keim couldn’t stop raving about this play.
“The thing I love about him is you see here his range, his ability to cover ground. And you see his closing speed right there,” Keim said. “He recognizes what’s going on and has the ability to get over the top and knock the ball down. That second little gear for safeties is huge.”
That gear is also why Keim sees the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Thompson as a ball-hawking free safety in the NFL despite his body type.
“A lot of times, guys who are built like he is, kind of a high body cut and long-legged, they’re not great pedaling and they’re not great in changing direction,” Keim said. “But this guy is really pretty good at dropping his weight and getting in and out of things.”
Where a player went to college doesn’t always weigh heavily in Keim’s evaluation but it did in Thompson’s case.
“The thing about DBs from Alabama, you know they’re coached well because of (Nick) Saban,” Keim said. “Basically when you go to an Alabama practice Saban is working with the defensive backs. Certain programs when they come out they’re NFL ready.”
Concerns about a degenerative knee condition caused Thompson to fall to the fifth round but Keim said: “I don’t know what they’re talking about. Our medical team didn’t have any issues with him. … I don’t know why he was there when we picked because we had might higher grades on him.
“He’s a good tackler, he’s smart, we felt like he really did everything well.”
(Top photo of Hakeem Butler at Cardinals camp in May 2019: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today Sports)
So credit The Athletic and Scott Bordow.
If you want daily updates and stories on the Cardinals and their players it's a great subscription
Welcome to Part 2 of The Athletic’s sit-down with Cardinals general manager Steve Keim and his video breakdown of Arizona’s top six draft picks.
Last week Keim analyzed four highlights of quarterback Kyler Murray, the No. 1 pick overall.
In this second installment, Keim focuses on cornerback Byron Murphy, wide receivers Andy Isabella and Hakeem Butler, defensive end Zach Allen and safety Deionte Thompson.
Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
One of the things that sold Keim on Murphy was the teaching he received from Washington co-defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake.
“The University of Washington is one of the few teams in college football … that play a variety of stuff,” Keim said. “They just don’t play man press or zone. They play off, they play man, they do a lot of different things from a coverage standpoint.”
The Cardinals had Murphy as the fifth highest-ranked player on their draft board for three reasons: His ability to play any type of coverage, both in the slot and as an outside corner, the quickness with which he got out of his backpedal and his tackling ability.
“This guy has natural anticipation and quick feet,” Keim said. “He’s not the biggest, he’s not the straight-line fastest but he’s got great anticipation and feel and he has terrific transition quickness in coming out of his breaks.
“One of the hardest things to me for cornerbacks to do is to be able to play off coverage and watch both the quarterback and the receiver. This guy’s natural feel and instincts for it to me are what set him apart from a lot of corners. You watch his feet and his movement skills, there no wasted steps. He’s very precise.
“We just thought he was the complete package. He could do it all. If he ran a 4.3 he might have been a top-10 pick in my opinion. The fact he ran 4.49, that’s plenty fast. Again, it’s more about the quickness.”
Keim said Murphy’s ability to tackle and “play big” reminds him of Brent Grimes, a four-time Pro Bowl corner who played for Tampa Bay last season.
“His toughness for being a corner … a lot of those guys are not great tacklers as we know,” Keim said. “He’s a solid wrap tackler who isn’t afraid to put his face in there. That’s so important. Nowadays the way NFL teams are running the football they’re forcing your corners to tackle. You’re going to make a guy tackle all day and eventually they’re either going to get tired or scared or not want to tackle and you’re going to break some big runs.”
Andy Isabella, WR, UMass
Isabella had 102 catches for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, giving Keim dozens of highlights to choose from. But the first play on the big screen is a touchdown catch against Georgia. Isabella not only had a huge day against an SEC team – 15 catches, 219 yards, two touchdowns – it’s the way he set up defenders with his route running that impressed Keim.
It’s hard to tell in this clip but midway through the pattern Isabella does a little head nod to freeze his defender.
“I think it’s his attention to detail, how a guy like this to me is someone who works on his craft,” Keim said. “It’s not just the fact he can go out and run fast (Isabella ran a 4.3 40.) It’s the little details of the head nod or shifting his weight and disguising routes.
“A lot of times guys on a double move, they’ll stop, shuffle their feet, drop their weight. He does that but this little head nod is another thing he’s perfected to throw defenders off.”
Isabella often has been likened to slot receivers like Julian Edelman or Danny Amendola but Keim believes that’s a lazy comp. He said Isabella’s route running and 4.3 speed reminds him of Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Brandin Cooks, a first-round pick in the 2014 draft.
“The way they’re built and the way they run,” Keim said.
Isabella likely will play in the slot but Keim moved on to another clip against Georgia to illustrate the fact that Isabella shouldn’t be thought of as strictly a possession-type receiver.
“They fooled the defense (with the run fake) but what it shows you is how talented he is and what he does after the catch,” Keim said. “These guys all catch up because the ball is underthrown but his ability to make them miss … he turns on the jets and the guys with angles he outruns them. You know those people in Georgia were going, ‘Who the hell is this kid?’”
Zach Allen, DE, Boston College
Allen’s perceived lack of athleticism – he ran a 5.0 40-yard dash – was a big reason he dropped into the third round but Keim loved his effort and ability to play multiple positions. Allen will start as a five-technique defensive end in Arizona’s 3-4 defense but Keim believes he can be shifted inside as well and, in an emergency, be used as an outside linebacker.
“You see the way he’s built but he plays so much more athletic than you would think,” Keim said. “But the great thing about him is he plays with perfect technique and he has great instincts. And he plays extremely hard.
“A lot of times in scouting you go out and watch the tape and you’re like, ‘This guy is a really good football player.’ And then in the spring, he didn’t quite run the 40 that everybody wanted to run. He didn’t jump as high. He didn’t do well in all the bells and whistle events at the combine. This is a guy that if you just watch the film and graded him on the film he ranked way up there.”
Keim cued up a clip of Allen, in a goal-line stand, pressing an offensive lineman with one arm and then, as the play flows the other way, pulling down the ball carrier.
“This is harder than you think,” Keim said. “When you’re playing against the flow of the offensive line and all of a sudden you have to stop in your tracks and make the tackle, it’s pretty impressive.”
As he watched the clip, Keim also pointed out something Allen does that he believes is imperative for players: He’s a “natural knee-bender.”
“I don’t care what position you play in the NFL. To me the really great ones are able to bend their knees,” Keim said. “I don’t care if you’re a corner, an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman. If you play straight-legged you don’t play with any power in your hips.”
Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State
It’s not surprising that the Cardinals, after selecting Isabella, went with a big receiver in the 6-foot-5, 227-pound Butler. Last season for Texas Tech, 6-foot-6 receiver T.J. Vasher was a staple in Kliff Kingsbury’s passing attack using his size on 50-50 balls, fade patterns and in the red zone.
Keim believes Butler, who runs a 4.48 40, can be that sort of weapon for Arizona, as evidenced by a touchdown catch against Oklahoma in 2018.
“The one thing that stood out to me the first time I watched him is his stride length,” Keim said. “He takes three steps and it’s almost like he’s five yards already. Not only that but the kind of target he is, his catching radius and how he can box out smaller defenders. I don’t care what the coverage is. What corner is going to be able to stop him if he’s walling him off and using his body to his advantage?”
Butler is far from a polished product. He dropped 12 passes last season, which Keim attributes to “concentration” and, he hopes, will not be an issue as he’s mentored by Larry Fitzgerald. Also, Butler’s size can be a detriment as well. Keim said Butler will predominantly be a one-cut runner because “usually big guys like this struggle to drop their weight and get in and out of routes.”
Still, this clip from Iowa State’s Alamo Bowl game against Washington State shows why the Cardinals believe Butler was a steal with the first pick in the fourth round.
“This guy’s stride length and size and ability to catch the ball away from his body … it’s so tough on defenders because it’s hard to gauge how fast he’s moving,” Keim said. “For as big as he is, to run a 4.48, it’s one of those deals where defensive backs get in their pedal and it’s, ‘Oh, poo,’ and the guy is on top of them in two seconds.”
Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama
Keim couldn’t stop raving about this play.
“The thing I love about him is you see here his range, his ability to cover ground. And you see his closing speed right there,” Keim said. “He recognizes what’s going on and has the ability to get over the top and knock the ball down. That second little gear for safeties is huge.”
That gear is also why Keim sees the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Thompson as a ball-hawking free safety in the NFL despite his body type.
“A lot of times, guys who are built like he is, kind of a high body cut and long-legged, they’re not great pedaling and they’re not great in changing direction,” Keim said. “But this guy is really pretty good at dropping his weight and getting in and out of things.”
Where a player went to college doesn’t always weigh heavily in Keim’s evaluation but it did in Thompson’s case.
“The thing about DBs from Alabama, you know they’re coached well because of (Nick) Saban,” Keim said. “Basically when you go to an Alabama practice Saban is working with the defensive backs. Certain programs when they come out they’re NFL ready.”
Concerns about a degenerative knee condition caused Thompson to fall to the fifth round but Keim said: “I don’t know what they’re talking about. Our medical team didn’t have any issues with him. … I don’t know why he was there when we picked because we had might higher grades on him.
“He’s a good tackler, he’s smart, we felt like he really did everything well.”
(Top photo of Hakeem Butler at Cardinals camp in May 2019: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today Sports)
