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The Arizona Cardinals' 2018 draft made its reputation on Day 1 with the selection of a player who the team hopes will become the long-sought franchise quarterback of years to come.

If the Cardinals got no one in this draft besides Josh Rosen Authentic Sebastian Janikowski Jersey , fans would have called it a rousing success.

And offense turned out to be the theme. Only one of the six players drafted by the Cardinals plays defense, even though their new coach Steve Wilks was defensive coordinator last year at Carolina.

The choices were simply a function of the names on the Arizona draft board, general manager Steve Keim said.

"In a perfect world, coach and I would have been thrilled to have balance and to fill some positions defensively if those guys warranted those picks," Keim said. "But we had such high grades on those offensive players, we didn't want to stray away from the board."

In the second round, Arizona went with homegrown wide receiver Christian Kirk from Texas A&M in the second round.

The Cardinals picked center Mason Cole out of Michigan in the third round and, with their first choice Saturday dipped into the FCS ranks to grab running back Chase Edmonds of Fordham.

It marked only the second time in the draft's modern era (which began in 1967) that the Cardinals have used their first four picks on the offense. The other was in 1993.

Finally, in the sixth round, Arizona went defense, grabbing cornerback Chris Campbell of Penn State. The Cardinals' final pick came third to last in the seventh and final round when they selected offensive tackle Korey Cunningham of Cincinnati.

But this draft was, first and foremost, about that long-awaited young quarterback for Arizona.

When Carson Palmer retired at the end of last season, there were no QBs on the roster. Now they have Sam Bradford, Mike Glennon and Rosen Authentic Harrison Phillips Jersey , who will begin his new job in earnest at the rookie minicamp in two weeks.

HOME SWEET HOME

No Arizona draftee could have been happier than Kirk, who grew up in the Phoenix area, starring at Saguaro High in Scottsdale before choosing Texas A&M over staying home at Arizona State. Now he's coming home and keeps describing the situation as "surreal."

Kirk said he got to know star receiver Larry Fitzgerald when he played on the same Pop Warner team as Kurt Warner's son. Warner would sometimes bring Fitzgerald along to games and they struck up a friendship.

"I think I was probably in the fourth grade at the time, third or fourth grade, and every time they came out, it was just so crazy," Kirk said.

Kirk will use his old No. 13. That was the Hall of Famer Warner's number, too.

"Exactly, I have to rock it well," Kirk said. "I have a lot to live up to."

CHARACTER

Keim said that as he evolves through his fifth year on the job, he's paying more attention than ever to off-the-field character and the player's love of the game as he assesses who should be selected. He noted all but Campbell in this year's class were team captains.

The idea was to go with "strong character guys" that match what Wilks calls his team's DNA.

"I've almost promised myself that we would take guys, even if they're a little less talented, but they have that makeup," Keim said. "... Especially in our first draft together, we wanted to make a statement."

FCS SUCCESS

Almost every year Authentic Martin Fehervary Jersey , the Cardinals dip into the talent at the FCS level, or lower.

This year it was Edmonds, the all-time leading rusher in the Patriot League for yards and touchdowns who could be in a crowded competition for a backup spot behind 2016 All-Pro David Johnson, as well as a kick and punt returner.

"I'm just looking forward to whatever role Arizona asks me," he said. "Whether it's being a special teams player, being a third-down back, on the slot, something like that. I'm looking forward to it."

Keim called Edmonds' production "off the charts" and said he would have set the FCS career rushing record had he not been injured during his senior season.

Some prior Arizona draftees from the FCS ranks or lower include Johnson, taken in the third round out of Northern Iowa in 2015; wide receiver John Brown, selected in third round out of Pittsburg State (Kan.) in 2014; and cornerback/special teams player Justin Bethel, picked in the sixth round out of Presbyterian in 2012.

Oh, and quarterback John Skelton out of Fordham in the fifth round in 2010. He's no longer around.

STILL NEED

Look for defensive players to be signed as undrafted free agents, as well as maybe some late veteran signings. Arizona still needs to find a cornerback to play opposite Patrick Peterson and is looking for depth at linebacker as the team transitions from a 3-4 base formation to a 4-3. The Cardinals also could use some depth at tight end.
The sight of Evgeny Kuznetsov clutching his left arm and leaving the ice after a hit from Brayden McNabb isn’t as big a threat to the Washington Capitals‘ title hopes as it might seem.

Not after the Capitals withstood three games without Nicklas Backstrom. Not after they missed Kuznetsov for most of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and still beat the Vegas Golden Knights to tie the series.

They’d love to have their leading scorer in the lineup Saturday night in Washington, but with superstar captain Alex Ovechkin and several top players producing and filling the void, the Capitals are built to handle life without Kuznetsov if it comes to that.

”We’ve had some guys been out here and there these playoffs Cheap Brian O'Neill Jersey ,” Backstrom said. ”It’s hard to replace Kuznetsov the way he’s been playing, but if that’s the case it is what it is and we just have to have other guys step up.”

Coach Barry Trotz provided no update on Kuznetsov on Thursday other than to say the Russian center is day to day. The team practices again Friday.

It didn’t look very good for Kuznetsov when he went down the tunnel in the first period Wednesday night and didn’t return. But Ovechkin scored his first career Stanley Cup Final goal on the power play, and Lars Eller, bumped up the lineup to fill in for Kuznetsov, had a goal and two assists.

No one player can make up for the potential loss of Kuznetsov, who has 11 goals and 14 assists in 21 playoff games, though Washington’s depth down the middle looks solid with Backstrom, Eller, Jay Beagle and, if need be, Chandler Stephenson. Eller played a key role in two big victories against Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference final without Backstrom, and will once again be one of the most important players on the ice if Kuznetsov isn’t healthy.

”Nick has gone out or Kuzy has been out, Lars has elevated his game and comes up in a more prominent role,” Trotz said. ”I think he embraces the challenge. He takes the moments very seriously that he has to step up and try to find a way to produce, and he has. He’s a veteran player who has good hockey sense Authentic Josey Jewell Jersey , and he’s strong on the puck, and I think his game translates well in the playoffs.”

It doesn’t hurt that the Capitals can lean on Ovechkin in times of need, and they have received strong performances from top-six wingers Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie and Jakub Vrana and defenseman John Carlson.

It’s the kind of production Vegas is looking for from its top line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith. Going on the road means coach Gerard Gallant can’t pick matchups, so he’s counting on his best players to play like it.

”I don’t care who they play against,” Gallant said. ”We’re going to play well and work hard and compete hard. (Wednesday) night they didn’t have the offensive outburst they usually have. You’re not going to be at your best every night. I expect them to be really good for us like they have all season long.”

Gallant tipped his hat to the Capitals, saying they deserved to win Game 2 based on how they performed after losing Kuznetsov. It would be more difficult to sustain that effort and adrenaline for an entire game without him, though it’s a test they passed without Backstrom earlier in the playoffs.

”It’ll be a big loss, but as you saw in the Pittsburgh series when Nick went down, sometimes that kind of energizes some other guys to get in there and be able to make some plays,” Oshie said. ”So we’ll roll with the punches.”

Rolling with the punches has become somewhat of the Capitals’ identity this season and into the playoffs. They got some more in the form of a ground stop at the airport after they landed on Thursday as lightning kept them from getting off the plane.

Trotz considers it just another roadblock for his team to get over.

”Our guys are fine,” he said. ”It’s another layer of adversity that we have to go through all the time.”

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