The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference West Division. The team was established in Chicago in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club and is the oldest continuously run professional football franchise. They joined the NFL as a charter member on September 17, 1920, as the Chicago Cardinals. In 1960, the team moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where it became the St. Louis Cardinals. Before the 1988 season, the team moved to Tempe, Arizona, and played home games for the next 18 seasons at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University. In 1994, after being known as the Phoenix Cardinals from 1988 to 1993, they became the Arizona Cardinals. In 2006, the team moved their home games to State Farm Stadium (then known as University of Phoenix Stadium), where they have played their home games since. The team was purchased by Charles Bidwill in 1932 and has been owned by a member of the Bidwill family since, with Charles' grandson Michael Bidwill being the current owner.

The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them.

In 1936, the league introduced the NFL draft after team owners voted on it in 1935. The intention of the draft is to make the NFL more competitive, as some teams had an advantage in signing players. From through , the NFL designated the first overall selection as a "bonus" or "lottery pick". The pick was awarded by a random draw and the winner who received the "bonus pick" forfeited its selection in the final round of the draft and became ineligible for future draws. The system was abolished prior to the 1959 NFL draft, as all twelve teams in the league at the time had received a bonus choice.

Since the first draft, the Cardinals have selected 95 players in the first round. The team's first-round pick in the inaugural NFL draft was Jimmy Lawrence, a back from Texas Christian University; he was the 5th overall selection. The Cardinals have selected first overall five times and selected Ki Aldrich in 1939, George Cafego in 1940, Charley Trippi in 1945, King Hill in 1958, and Kyler Murray in 2019. In the most recent draft, held in 2026, the Cardinals selected Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.

The Cardinals did not draft a player in the first round on five occasions. Four of the team's first-round picks—Ollie Matson, Joe Namath, Charley Trippi, and Roger Wehrli—have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Cardinals have used seven first-round picks on players—Glenn Dobbs, Dub Jones, John Kimbrough, Carl McAdams, Joe Namath, Ken Rice, Jim Spavital—who chose to sign with competing leagues instead.

Player selections

+ Key Symbol Meaning Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame * Selected number one overall Selected number one overall and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Position abbreviations B Back C Center DB Defensive back DE Defensive end DT Defensive tackle E End FB Fullback G Guard HB Halfback K Placekicker LB Linebacker QB Quarterback RB Running back T Tackle TB Tailback TE Tight end WB Wingback WR Wide receiver

+ Arizona Cardinals first-round draft picks Season Pick Player Position College Notes 1936 5 B TCU 1937 3 B Marquette Never played for the team 1938 5 TB Arkansas 1939 1 * C TCU 1940 1 * FB Tennessee Never played for team 1941 2 FB Texas A&M Signed for the New York Yankees of the AFL III instead 1942 4 WB Duke 1943 3 TB Tulsa Signed for the AAFC's Brooklyn Dodgers instead 1944 2 FB Wisconsin 1945 1 HB Georgia 1946 2 HB LSU Signed for the AAFC's Brooklyn Dodgers instead 1947 7 T Army 1948 11 FB Oklahoma Signed for the AAFC's Los Angeles Dons instead 1949 10 T Notre Dame 1950 Pick traded to Los Angeles Rams 1951 6 G Notre Dame 1952 3 RB San Francisco 1953 4 FB California 1954 2 QB Arkansas 1955 2 E Oklahoma 1956 7 HB Auburn 1957 10 LB Oklahoma 1958 1* QB Rice Lottery bonus pick 2 HB Texas A&M 1959 3 DB Mississippi State 1960 2 QB Notre Dame 1961 8 T Auburn Signed for the AFL's Buffalo Bills instead 1962 6 T Northwestern 12 C Kentucky Pick received from Philadelphia Eagles 1963 2 DB LSU 13 DE Purdue Pick received from New York Giants 1964 9 DT Louisville 1965 12 QB Alabama Signed for the AFL's New York Jets instead 1966 8 LB Oklahoma Signed for the AFL's New York Jets instead 1967 16 WR Washington 1968 13 RB Utah State 1969 19 DB Missouri 1970 8 RB Texas A&M 1971 17 DB Utah 1972 4 RB Oregon 1973 5 DT Purdue 1974 7 TE Colorado 1975 21 DB Texas A&M 1976 22 DT Arizona 1977 19 QB Missouri Original pick traded to Atlanta Falcons. Pick received from Washington Redskins. 1978 15 K Arkansas 19 DB Washington State Pick received from Washington Redskins 1979 8 RB Miami (FL) 1980 6 DE Michigan 1981 5 LB Alabama 1982 16 T UCLA Moved down draft order in trade with Kansas City Chiefs 1983 17 DB McNeese State 1984 17 WR Tennessee 1985 18 LB Ole Miss 1986 5 LB Michigan State 1987 6 QB Colorado State 1988 12 LB California 1989 10 LB LSU 17 G Boston College Pick received from Seattle Seahawks 1990 Pick used in 1989 supplemental draft 1991 6 DE None 1992 Pick traded to Miami Dolphins 1993 3 RB Georgia Moved up draft order in trade with New York Jets 18 T South Carolina Pick received from NFL. Moved up draft order in trade with San Francisco 49ers. 1994 10 LB UCLA 1995 Pick traded to New York Jets 1996 3 DE Illinois 1997 9 DB Iowa 1998 3 DE Florida State Moved down draft order in trade with San Diego Chargers 1999 8 WR Ohio State Pick received from San Diego Chargers 21 T Eastern Michigan 2000 7 RB Virginia 2001 2 T Texas 2002 12 DT Wisconsin 2003 17 WR Penn State Moved down draft order in trade with New Orleans Saints 18 DE Wake Forest Pick received from New Orleans Saints 2004 3 WR Pittsburgh 2005 8 DB Miami (FL) 2006 10 QB USC 2007 5 T Penn State 2008 16 DB Tennessee State 2009 31 RB Ohio State 2010 26 DT Tennessee 2011 5 DB LSU 2012 13 WR Notre Dame 2013 7 G North Carolina 2014 27 DB Washington State 2015 24 T Florida 2016 29 DT Ole Miss 2017 13 LB Temple 2018 10 QB UCLA Moved up draft order in trade with Oakland Raiders 2019 1 * QB Oklahoma 2020 8 LB Clemson 2021 16 LB Tulsa 2022 Pick traded to Baltimore Ravens 2023 6 T Ohio State Moved down draft order in trade with Houston Texans. Moved up draft order in trade with Detroit Lions. 2024 4 WR Ohio State 27 DE Missouri Pick received from Houston Texans 2025 16 DT Ole Miss 20263 RBNotre Dame

See also

History of the Arizona Cardinals List of Arizona Cardinals seasons

Notes

References