The story of Dante Stills is one that has played out repeatedly for draft picks every April – the defensive lineman watched the names be called deep into the final day and began to doubt what might happen.
"I remember that day like it was yesterday," the 2023 sixth-round pick said. "I was getting a little worried. I'm just happy they took a chance on me because I knew what type of player I was."
The Cardinals are finding that out. Stills isn't a star. He even was a healthy scratch earlier this season, when the team was much healthier on the defensive line. But he has proven to be a player that should not be in street clothes and in the rotation every week.
He is a tangible example of what teams need from later draft picks.
Stills recorded a sack in Seattle and leads the team with 4.5 this season. The unit struggles to get individual name recognition beyond Budda Baker but has played exceptionally well as a group for a month.
That's what happens when a guy like Stills – whose father, uncle and cousin all played in the NFL – trends up.
"I always see the things I do wrong," Stills said with a smile. "But I definitely think my game is improving."
The ability to draw from the third day in the draft into regular contributors is crucial to roster building. Stills came in the sixth round in 2023, the final pick of Monti Ossenfort's first class. Linebacker Owen Pappoe, who gets some defensive reps and is a special-teams cog, is from the 2023 fifth round. Rookie edge rusher Xavier Thomas and safety Rabbit Taylor-Demerson are from the fifth and fourth round, respectively, this year.
Linebacker Victor Dimukeje, who sported half a uniform worth of blue end zone paint on Sunday after nearing blocking a Seattle punt, was taken in the sixth round in 2021. Jesse Luketa, who has a sack in each of the last three games, arrived in the seventh round of 2022.
"Every acquisition piece is critical," Gannon said. "Whether you're drafted in the first round or sixth round or you're a free agent or whatever, you need those guys to play well and star their role. I think we've got some guys that have been doing that, so it's good to see and all you're trying to do as a coach is to get them hit their ceiling.
"The great coaches get guys to play above their ceiling consistently, but it's our job to make sure that whatever they have in the tank, we make sure that we get what they got in the tank. I think a lot of our guys are ascending and playing good football."
Stills has been more consistent, Gannon said, a frequent refrain for improving young players. The coach sees Stills making the proper first step off the ball, allowing for his explosiveness and strength to factor in.
"If you let that guy punch you first, now you have to get to a counter," Gannon said. "He's punching people first now, so I think that just the consistency of doing the right thing and his technique is allowing him to make plays."
Stills knows he won't be perfect, but he still wants to attack the "list" of issues he can't help but see no matter how well he might perform.
Sure, he has a handful of sacks, for instance, but Stills is frustrated with his pass rush, leaving plays in which he should've had extra sacks or, at the least, created pressure on the quarterback. He wants to show he was drafted too low and burns to show he should not be a consideration for a game-day inactive.
The Cardinals will be better for it.
"I'm a work in progress," Stills said.