Arizona Cardinals: 5 2015 NFL Draft Sleepers to Target

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Oct 26, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver

John Brown

(12) celebrates by dancing after a 75 yard touchdown during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The 2015 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 30^th. That first day will include the entire first round, which is where almost all of the public attention for the draft will be focused.

While the first round will get a huge majority of the attention, the second and third days of the draft are very important for NFL teams as well. Teams regularly find underrated prospects in the second and third days of the draft that make an immediate impact in the NFL.

When looking for later round success stories, look no further than the Arizona Cardinals the past couple of years. Steve Keim took over as the team’s General Manager before the 2013 season, and has already made an impact in the later rounds of the draft.

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In 2013, Keim’s first draft with the Cardinals, the team landed a crop of useful players who have made a strong impact on their team in the middle to late rounds of the draft. Most notably third round pick Tyrann Mathieu who has become a very important part of the Cardinals’ secondary, fourth round pick Alex Okafor who led the team with eight sacks last season and sixth round pick Andre Ellington who has flashed brilliance at running back for the past two years.

Last year, the Cardinals sniped undersized receiver John Brown in the third round of the draft. Brown was severely undervalued because of his size (5-foot-10, 179 pounds) and the fact that he came from a very little-known school (Pittsburg State in Kansas).

Keim and his staff clearly did an incredible job of scouting Brown, as he made an impact for the Cardinals throughout the 2014 season. Brown finished with 48 receptions for 696 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. Brown showed incredible speed and elusiveness last season, and was a dangerous deep threat for the team. He is a real weapon for the Cardinals going forward.

While nobody else burst onto the scene from the 2014 class like Brown; second round pick Troy Niklas looks to have a bright future at tight end, third round pick Kareem Martin showed signs of becoming a ferocious pass rusher and fifth round pick Ed Stinson looked like a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the defensive line when healthy.

With a couple of already strong mid-to-late round draft classes under their belt, Keim and his staff will now look to find some undervalued gems in the 2015 draft.

The Cardinals are a very talented team with a few very specific holes on their roster. Obviously, their first round pick (24^th overall) will be a key to them adding an impact player going forward, but they must continue to excel in the later rounds if they expect to take the next step towards becoming legitimate contenders.

This is a very important draft for the Cardinals, but they are in very good hands with Keim in charge.

Without further ado, here are five mid-to-late round sleeper prospects that fit the Cardinals’ needs, and are worth considering in the 2015 NFL Draft.

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