The NFL draft always provides a surprise or two. Though no Sooners were selected in the first round, OU fans were treated to news that reunited two former Sooners.
During the first round, Baltimore traded wide receiver Marquise Brown and pick No. 100 to the Arizona Cardinals for No. 23 overall. The duo that put up a dominant 2018 season are joining forces again.
Brown joins an Arizona Cardinals team that went 11-6 in 2021, but lost to eventual Super Bowl champions the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round of the playoffs. While Brown goes from being the top wide receiver on the roster in Baltimore to the No. 2 guy in Arizona, playing alongside DeAndre Hopkins should help provide “Hollywood” with much more favorable coverages.
The Cardinals, who lost wide receiver Christian Kirk to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency, get a deep threat that can put stress on opposing defenses helping create opportunities for Hopkins and other pass catchers A.J. Green, Rondale Moore, and Zach Ertz underneath.
The NFC west put three teams into the playoffs last season, with the Rams and San Francisco 49ers meeting in the NFC championship game.
During the 2018 season, Kyler Murray and Marquise Brown connected 75 times for more than 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns. Murray won the Heisman and the Oklahoma Sooners won 12 games and made it to the College Football Playoffs.