Once the Arizona Cardinals selected LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson fifth overall in the 2011 NFL draft, there was less chance, in my view, of the team selecting a quarterback this year.
My thinking: If the team could not get a franchise quarterback, why invest a choice in a player unlikely to alter the depth chart in a meaningful way?
The Cardinals apparently agreed. They did not draft a quarterback, instead coming away with a cornerback, running back, fullback, tight end, defensive end, receiver and two linebackers.
"It's a little unrealistic to think that you could address every need in the draft," coach Ken Whisenhunt told reporters Saturday. "The thing that kind of really stood out to me was we had three, that I know of, what we considered the best players at their positions in the draft, and we got them. That’s kind of unusual."
Those players: Peterson, second-round running back Ryan Williams and fifth-round fullback Anthony Sherman. Kansas City traded into the 135th spot to draft quarterback Ricky Stanzi right before the Cardinals chose Sherman at No. 136.
Teams selected five quarterbacks between the Cardinals first and second selections, including two -- Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick -- within three spots of where Arizona landed Williams.
"If you look at our roster now, we have a lot of young, talented football players," Whisenhunt said. "And when we put this together, when our guys get it, we’re going to be a pretty good football team and that’s really exciting. We’re definitely going to have a chance to make some plays."
The chart shows the players Arizona drafted in relation to where other teams drafted quarterbacks.