Keim, Arians follow familiar pattern in 5th draft together

Cardinals go for ‘position flexibility’

TEMPE — The fifth draft conducted by the Arizona Cardinals duo of general manager Steve Keim and coach Bruce Arians followed a familiar pattern.

Keim and Arians, obviously, have this drill down pat.

The theme, Arians said, was “position flexibility,” players who can fill more than one role.

The first two picks, linebacker Haason Reddick and safety Budda Baker, fit that bill. So do two big linemen who were picked on the final day. The third-round choice was wide receiver Chad Williams.

That’s the same round that gave the Cardinals Tyrann Mathieu, John Brown and David Johnson. Brown and Johnson came from lesserknown schools.

Two big linemen and a player with the speed that Arians loves were added on the final day.

But still, there’s no young quarterback to groom as Carson Palmer’s eventual replacement. This team remains in a “win-now” mode. Future issues, like the next quarterback, will have to wait.

Some observations from the Cardinals draft:

QUARTERBACK

The question that still hovers over the franchise when will it find the heir apparent to the 37-year-old Palmer? Keim said the Cardinals refuse to panic over the situation, despite the fact this could be Palmer’s final season.

NICKEL HELP

Of the past two first-round picks, offensive tackle D.J. Humphries and defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, one didn’t play at all as a rookie (McKenzie), one played very little (Nkemdiche).

But the Cardinals say they expect Reddick to play right away.

THIRD-ROUND FIND?

There’s a good chance Larry Fitzgerald is entering his final season, so there should be a welcome roster spot for Williams.

Williams, the first Grambling player to be drafted since 2006, caught 90 passes for 1,337 yards as a senior. After being suspended for the season opener, he caught 13 passes for 152 yards against the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson.