Cardinals enter final day of NFL draft with 5 picks, dim prospects at quarterback

The Cardinals passed on selecting a quarterback in the first three rounds of the draft, and it’s doubtful they’ll find a future starter today in rounds five through seven.

“Would you love to find one?” General Manager Steve Keim said Friday night. “Absolutely, but at the same time you can’t force the pick and you can’t leave better players on the board, and that is what we would’ve done if we didn’t take the approach that we did. It would be a disservice to the organization and everybody that works here if we would press and do something that was out of the norm or to panic.”

The Cardinals have five picks today: one in the fourth round, two in the fifth and two in the seventh, so they could draft a quarterback who is a project.

“There are still a couple of quality arms,” coach Bruce Arians said. “Whether they’re long-term, first-string guys or long-term second string guys is yet to be seen.”

The Cardinals began the final day of the draft by addressing depth on the offensive line. They selected guard Dorian Johnson from Pittsburgh in the fourth round.

Johnson (6-feet-4-inches and 300 pounds) started 39 consecutive games in college, most of them at guard. According to profootballfocus.com, Johnson allowed just 15 quarterback pressures over the last three seasons.

Johnson was rated by some scouts as a possible second-round pick, and there are reports today that he dropped in the draft due to concern about an issue with his liver.

In a conference call on Saturday, Johnson said he’s had a liver condition his entire life. He has an abnormally high enzyme level and takes medication for it

The condition has never caused any problems, Johnson said.

“It hasn’t affected me and my playing whatsoever,” he said. “I’m completely healthy, no issues with it. I’m absolutely no worried about it at all.”

Johnson said he was surprised it became an issue for some teams.

Cardinals bios

Budda Baker

Round/pick: 2/36th

The trade: Cardinals traded with the Bears to move up from the 45th overall pick. They gave up their fourth and sixth round selections this year and a fourth in 2018. They received a seventh-round pick in return.

Position: Safety

School: Washington

Height/weight: 5-10, 192 pounds

Background: Baker was a four-star recruit out of Bellevue, Wash. He was on the same high school team as Myles Jack, who played at UCLA and is now with Jacksonville. Baker’s first name is Bishard, but he’s been called Budda since birth because his mother thought he looked like a little Buddha.

How he fits: A versatile player who can play almost anywhere in the secondary. Baker isn’t big, but he does a lot of the same things as Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu. He can play the traditional free safety role of roaming the center of the field. He can play strong safety near scrimmage and he can play nickel cornerback. The Cardinals often use three and four safeties in their defensive scheme, and they lost two starters to free agency.

Chad Williams

Round/pick: – 3/98

The trade: The Cardinals traded with the Panthers, moving down from the 77th overall pick to the 98th, receiving a fourth-round selection, the 115th overall, in return.

Position: Wide receiver

School: Grambling State

Height/weight: 6-1, 204 pounds

Background: A productive college receiver who caught 13 passes for 152 yards against Arizona last fall. Williams reportedly was impressive at the Senior Bowl but was not invited to the scouting combine.

How he fits: The Cardinals are always looking to add speed at receiver and Williams has it, running the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds at his pro day. The Cardinals are looking for depth at receiver and also toward the future. This could be Larry Fitzgerald’s last season.

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