The Cardinals made a big trade to move up in the second round Friday. It gave everyone pause. Quarterback? Deshone Kizer was on the board. But then came safety Budda Baker. No QB there. In the third round, the Cardinals traded down, and still, no QB. Now there is a question of whether there will be one in this draft.
"Those guys aren't always out there," coach Bruce Arians said. What about the quarterbacks left on the board? "There are still a couple of quality arms out there," Arians acknowledged. "Whether they are first-string arms or second-string arms is yet to be seen."
It's less than a ringing endorsement for a team looking for a quarterback of the future. But again, this class always was seen with warts, and the last thing the Cardinals have any desire to do is make a pick just because they feel they have to.
"Again, would you love to find one? Absolutely," GM Steve Keim said. "But as I said, you can't force a pick and you can't leave better players on the board, and that would have done if we didn't take the approach we did. It would be a disservice to the organization and everyone who works here if we were to press something that was out of the norm or to panic."
The Cards pick eighth in the fourth round Saturday. They have five picks -- one in the fourth, two each in the fifth and seventh. We will see if one is a QB.
-- The Cardinals really, really wanted Budda Baker. And in the third round, they liked Chad Williams a lot. So it worked out for Keim to make the initial trade, however expensive as it might have seemed, to snare Baker. Because Williams was one of those players that the Cardinals liked probably more than most, they were able to drop down 21 spots in the third, still get him and get back a fourth-round pick.
-- Arians believes with the addition of Baker, the Cardinals have one of the most dynamic secondaries in the league. He didn't rule out drafting a cornerback Saturday -- I would be a little surprised if they didn't -- but the addition of Baker gives the Cards flexibility even if there isn't a ready-to-be-on-an-island corner across from Patrick Peterson.
