Arizona Cardinals 2012 Draft Results: Breaking Down the Depth Chart

After a fairly quiet free-agency period, the Arizona Cardinals had an interesting draft. There were a couple of players they passed on that would have been great and there were several questionable picks.

All in all it was not terrible and the front office did a pretty good job at filling the different needs they had going into this offseason.

Arizona will likely pick up a handful of undrafted free agents and the roster may face a few changes. With changes already made, this article will recap the Cardinals draft and take a look at their depth chart.

Draft Picks

Michael Floyd, Notre Dame

Jamell Fleming, Oklahoma

Bobby Massie, Ole Miss

Senio Kelemete, Washington

Justin Bethel, Presbyterian

Ryan Lindley, SDSU

Nate Potter, Boise State

Quarterbacks

With John Skelton and Kevin Kolb on the roster, Ryan Lindley was a wasted pick. If they did not like Rich Bartel or wanted depth, then Darron Thomas and Kellen Moore went undrafted.

Emmanuel Acho was the man to take. This is not a knock on Lindley’s talent; he just won’t be used as much in Arizona as he would on other teams.

Starter: Kevin Kolb

Backup: John Skelton

Third String: Ryan Lindley

Running Backs

No changes were made to the running back position. LaRod Stephens-Howling signed his tender and Ryan Williams is returning from injury.

Starter: Beanie Wells

Backup: Ryan Williams

Third String: LaRod Stephens-Howling

Fullback: Anthony Sherman

Wide Receivers

With the 13th overall pick in the draft, the Arizona Cardinals added Notre Dame wideout Michael Floyd. This was a great pick for the Cards and will help their offense significantly.

No. 1: Larry Fitzgerald

No. 2: Michael Floyd

Slot: Early Doucet

No. 4: Andre Roberts

No. 5: Stephen Williams/DeMarco Sampson

Tight Ends

No changes were made to the tight end position. Rob Housler should find some space to work with the focus mainly on Floyd and Fitz. Give him a year to establish some chemistry with Kevin Kolb and he could develop into a top-tier tight end.

Starter: Jeff King

Backup: Todd Heap

Third String: Rob Housler

Offensive Line

Many Cardinals fans were extremely disappointed after Day 2, when there were no moves through the draft to improve their offensive line. With patience, however, the Cardinals front office was able to add tackle Bobby Massie, guard/tackle Senio Kelemete and tackle/guard Nate Potter.

Left Tackle: Levi Brown, D’Anthony Batiste

Left Guard: Daryn Colledge, Senio Kelemete

Center: Lyle Sendlein, Ryan Bartholomew

Right Guard: Adam Snyder, Nate Potter

Right Tackle: Jeremy Bridges, Bobby Massie

The additions made through free agency over the past two seasons have made for a much-improved offensive line. Whether the rookies will be ready to go right off the bat has yet to be seen.

Once they get used to the NFL and what their role is... look out.

Defensive Line

Calais Campbell was hit with the franchise tag and can hopefully work out a long-term deal before the start of the season. Other than that, no big changes were made.

Defensive End: Darnell Dockett, Ronald Talley

Defensive Tackle: Dan Williams, David Carter

Defensive End: Calais Campbell, Nick Eason

Linebackers

Joey Porter and Clark Haggans are no longer on the roster. Middle linebacker Stewart Bradley restructured his contract.

Outside Linebacker: Sam Acho, Antonio Coleman

Insider Linebacker: Daryl Washington, Paris Lenon, Stewart Bradley

Outside Linebacker: O’Brien Schofield, Brandon Williams

Secondary

Several changes were made to Arizona’s secondary. They lost Richard Marshall to the Miami Dolphins. They signed corner William Gay and drafted corners Jamell Fleming and Justin Bethel.

Greg Toler is also returning from injury. Both Fleming and Bethel can play safety as well.

Corner: Patrick Peterson, Greg Toler, William Gay, Jamell Fleming, Mike Adams, A.J. Jefferson

Free Safety: Kerry Rhodes, Rashad Johnson, Justin Bethel

Strong Safety: Adrian Wilson, James Sanders, Justin Bethel

Special Teams

If punters were really people too, then Arizona would have signed undrafted free-agent punter Marquette King out of Fort Valley State.

K: Jay Feely

P: Dave Zastudil

KR: LaRod Stephens-Howling

PR: Patrick Peterson