Big Red
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- Mar 16, 2019
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For the Cardinals, there was a new head coach, and they were coming off a season to mostly forget.
Not this week, with the draft coming Thursday, although it is the same situation. This was 2004, a year that produced a Cardinals’ draft class to remember.
The first three picks were wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Karlos Dansby and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett. And in many ways, the setup mirrored what the Cards will have this weekend. This year, the Cardinals own the first pick in every round of the draft (then some – they have 10 picks overall.) In 2004, they picked third in the first round, and at the top of the rounds only in the second, third and seventh.
The Cardinals ended up with a class in which all seven draftees not only made the roster, but started at least one game – and everyone aside from seventh-round quarterback John Navarre eventually started at least 20 games for the team. The core group, with Fitzgerald, Dansby, Dockett and defensive end Antonio Smith, were part of the backbone of the 2008 team that reached the Super Bowl.
“We are very proud of our group,” Fitzgerald said. “We feel it’s the best draft class in franchise history. Four players playing 10-plus years is pretty damn good. There’s 15-plus Pro Bowls among the group.”
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