The Cardinals picked 25-year old WR DeMarco Sampson out of San Diego State with the 249th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Sampson is a big target at 6’2″, 204 pounds but he lacks speed as he runs a 4.55 40.  Sampson has good hands and he’s a tough guy who isn’t scared of contact.  Sampson did miss the 2006 and 2007 seasons due to a Lisfranc injury to his foot but he rebounded nicely.  Sampson played in 13 games for San Diego State last year and he caught 67 passes for 1,220 yards (18.2 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Sampson played in 48 games in his time with the Aztecs and he caught 146 passes for 2,242 yards (15.4 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  In the 7th round it’s totally acceptable to take a chance on a guy who was very productive in college, and Sampson was certainly that.

The Arizona Cardinals picked 23-year old DT/DE David Carter out of UCLA with the 184th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He is 6’5″, 297 pounds so he has pretty good size.  He didn’t start at UCLA until his senior season and he finished up with 41 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. Carter had 63 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and he broke up 2 passes in his four years with the Bruins.  This was a reach pick for the Cardinals as Carter doesn’t appear to have much of an upside.

The Cardinals took  22-year old insider linebacker Quan Sturdivant out of North Carolina with the 171st overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Sturdivant is a tad small at 6’1″, 230 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  Sturdivant is a classic middle linebacker as he cleans up on plays between the tackles.  He is one of those tough dudes that appears to be very fired up on gameday.  He played in 8 games (7 starts) at North Carolina last year and he had 61 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, broke up 2 passes and he had 1 interception.  Sturdivant played in 46 games (38 starts) in his four years with the Tar Heels and he had 309 tackles, 27.5 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks, broke up 9 passes and he had 4 interceptions.  The Cardinals had a big need at inside linebacker and most draft experts had Sturdivant going in the 2nd or 3rd round, so they got great value with this pick.

UPDATE:  (9/5/2011) – The Cardinals have waived Quan Sturdivant.

UPDATE:  (9/6/2011) – The Cardinals have signed Sturdivant to the practice squad.

The Arizona Cardinals picked 22-year old fullback Anthony Sherman out of Connecticut with the 136th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Sherman is 5’10″, 244 pounds and he runs a 4.66 40.  He didn’t get the ball much in college as his game is blocking and playing on special teams (where he is a standout).  Sherman played in 12 games (8 starts) for Connecticut last year and he carried the ball 4 times for 1 yard (0.3 ypc).  He also caught 11 passes for 127 yards (11.5 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Sherman played in 51 games (28 starts) in his four years with the Huskies and he carried the ball 17 times for 61 yards (3.6 ypc).  He also caught 48 passes for 477 yards (9.9 avg) with 1 TD grab in his time with Connecticut.  The Cardinals got great value here with the pick of Sherman as he was the top fullback on a lot of team’s draft boards.

The Cardinals took 22-year old DE Sam Acho out of Texas with the 103rd overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Acho is 6’1″, 257 pounds and he runs a 4.8 40.  Acho is a tweener as he might be a little too small to play DE in the NFL but not fast enough to handle outside linebacker.  I think the Cardinals will try to put a few pounds on Acho and let him play DE.  He played in 12 games (all starts) for Texas last season and he had 59 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, 9 sacks, 1 batted down ball, he forced 5 fumbles and he recovered 5 fumbles.  Acho played  in 50 games (26 starts) in his four years with the Longhorns and he had 148 tackles, 37 tackles for a loss, 23.5 sacks, 8 batted down balls, forced 8 fumbles and he recovered 9 fumbles.  Acho was a playmaker in college and the Cardinals can certainly use help on the defensive side of the ball, so I really like this pick for them.

23-year old TE Rob Housler out of Florida Atlantic was picked #69 overall (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals.  Housler is 6’5″, 238 pounds and he runs a 4.52 40.  So whoever the Cardinals’  QB is, he will have a better TE than QBs of the past have had to throw to.  Housler doesn’t have a lot of moves but he is more than willing to work between the hashmarks to make tough grabs.  Housler played in 12 games (all starts) for Florida Altantic last year and he caught 39 passes for 629 yards (16.1 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He played in 49 games (20 starts) in his four years with the Owls and he caught 78 passes for 1,228 yards (15.7 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  This was a good pick for the Cardinals as they have not had a TE that is a threat to make plays in the passing game in a long, long time.

The Arizona Cardinals selected 21-year old RB Ryan Williams out of Virginia  Tech with the 38th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Williams is on the small side at 5’10″, 205 pounds but he runs a 4.45 40.  Williams is a potential main back for an offense as he is good catching the ball and he’s a very solid runner.  Williams played in 10 games (5 starts) for Virginia Tech last year and he carried the ball 110 times for 477 yards (4.3 ypc) with 9 TD runs.  He also caught 10 passes for 109 yards (10.9 avg) last season with 1 TD grab.  Williams has played in 23 games (18 starts) in his two years with the Hokies and he carried the ball 403 times for 2,132 yards (5.3 ypc) with 30 TD runs.  He also caught 26 passes for 289 yards (11.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs with Virginia Tech.  This was a good pick for the Cardinals as Williams could bump Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells down the depth chart as early as 2011.