Cardinals Get Kliff Kingsbury Some Weapons

Big Red

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Mar 16, 2019
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The moment he got off the phone with second-round pick Andy Isabella during draft weekend, Kliff Kingsbury clapped five times and let out an excited scream.


The Cardinals coach is known for his offensive ingenuity, but even the brightest football minds will be handcuffed without talent. General Manager Steve Keim attempted to rectify that last week, consistently selecting playmakers to ease Kingsbury’s transition.


Isabella was chosen in the second round, followed by wideout Hakeem Butler in the fourth, wide receiver KeeSean Johnson in the sixth and tight end Caleb Wilson in the seventh. Keim was adamant that he wouldn’t reach for wide receivers if a superior player at another position was available, and felt like he got the best of both worlds in the draft.


“It felt right the way it fell,” Keim said, “and to be able to put some of those young receivers in there with guys like Larry (Fitzgerald) and Christian (Kirk) I think will really help us in the future.”


The Cardinals’ offense last season was the worst in the NFL in several different categories. The hire of Kingsbury proved there was a clear focus on fixing it, and there is hope that mixing the newcomers with some holdovers will produce quick results.


Kirk, Fitzgerald and running back David Johnson are the main skill weapons back from 2018. Isabella is a speed demon who can be dangerous in a pair of ways: both on jet sweeps and bubble screens near the line of scrimmage and on vertical routes over the top of the defense.


“You always want that,” Kingsbury said of a player who can stretch teams vertically. “Christian last year, playing outside, had that ability at times. I think Isabella running a 4.31 (40-yard dash), he’s a guy you’re going to have to watch every time he steps on the field for that deep threat.”

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