Former USC Trojan Matt Leinart can’t wait to be a Cardinal; even though Arizona is normally the place for high draft picks go to rot.
The list of former first round draft picks who never panned out in Arizona is long and painful. Eric Swann: bust. Tom Knight: bust. Andre Wadsworth: mega bust. Jamir Miller, Leonard Davis and Ernest Dye: bust, bust, bust.
Even if the Cardinals selected a decent pick in the first round, they either were a lost talent in Arizona (David Boston) or prospered long after they donned the red and white (Thomas Jones, Simon Rice and Garrison Hearst).
However, with recent selections of players such as Larry Fitzgerald, Antrel Rolle and to a lesser extent Bryant Johnson, the Cardinals are starting to turn their luck around. Leinart will hopefully be no exception.
Coach Dennis Green called Leinart a “gift from heaven.”
“I have only said it a couple of other times to top football players and it was true,” Green said as he introduced Leinart at club headquarters. “The circumstances and the synergy and the stars get lined up just right, and then you really get something that you really needed.”
With excitement beaming out of his head coach and Cardinal staff members, Leinart is thrilled to be in Arizona where he has the chance to turn around a franchise in major need of a face lift.
Leinart will join an offense with a receiving group that is knee deep in talent. Anquan Boldin, Fitzgerald and Johnson will provide nice big targets for Leinart once he eventually reaches the field. Also, Edgerrin James will provide Arizona with the running game that they had hoped for when they drafted J.J. Arrington, Marcel Ship and Michael Pittman.
Things are finally looking up for the Cardinals and Leinart seems to be soaking up the mountains of possibilities that await him.
