Cardinals stock up on OL, select T Potter in seventh round

Just when Cardinals fans thought the offensive line would become an afterthought in the draft, it quickly became a focal point, as the team took linemen with their fourth and fifth round picks.

The club didn’t stop there. They ended their portion of the draft by selecting another tackle in the seventh round, Nate Potter from Boise State.

Potter comes to the Cardinals with starter experience. During his four years in Boise, Potter started 42 games at left tackle. He appeared in 51 of a possible 53 games during his time there.

These next stats should make Kevin Kolb and John Skelton very happy: Potter led an offensive line at Boise State that gave up just 34 sacks in four years!

Potter says his mental preparation and his technique are two of his strengths.

“I see myself playing,” Potter said. “In order to get there, I’m going to have to work on some things and definitely get stronger.”

General manager Rod Graves was very impressed by what he saw from Potter at the NFL Combine and in a subsequent visit with him. That made the selection that much easier.

“He has potential to line up and play for us at left tackle, if he continues to make strides with his development,” Graves said.

Head coach Ken Whisenhunt is pleased with the sudden explosion of talent on an offensive line that was looked at as being sub-par coming into this season.

“I think when you look at where we are, we have some young guys in the pipeline now, which is one of the things that we haven’t necessarily had before,” Whisenhunt said.