Kent Somers

azcentral sports

On Sept. 2, the Cardinals traded a conditional 2018 draft pick, likely their seventh-rounder, to the Chiefs for cornerback Marcus Cooper.

Sixteen days later, Cooper intercepted two passes, including one he returned 60 yards for a touchdown, in the Cardinals’ 40-7 victory over the Buccaneers.

In the process, he made members of the Cardinals personnel department look like geniuses. For at least a week, anyway.

No one with the team is putting Cooper in the Ring of Honor yet, or even assuring him of a place in the starting lineup for Sunday’s game in Buffalo. But Cooper’s acquisition is an example of how the Cardinals' scouting department has improved in three-plus years under General Manager Steve Keim.

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Upon taking the job in 2013, one of Keim’s priorities was bolstering the pro personnel department. Today, the Cardinals are fully staffed there, and nearly everyone, Keim said, had a hand in identifying Cooper as someone who could help shore up a position of concern.

He rattled off names of people who don’t get much attention (other than former safety Adrian Wilson, now a scout): Terry McDonough, vice president of player personnel; Quentin Harris, pro scouting director; Malik Boyd, assistant pro scouting director; and Glen Fox, pro scout.

In a short interview, Keim gave some insight on the process that brought Cooper to Arizona.

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Question: In identifying a guy like Marcus Cooper, when do you start building a file on him?

Answer: Now that we have the manpower on the pro side, we’ve really accelerated the process in terms of looking into every roster and identifying guys potentially on the bubble.

It’s two things. No. 1, we spend a little bit more time at positions of need, where we feel like we can grow and get better, as well as teams that have a surplus at one particular position. Kansas City, we felt like, was one of those teams that had an excess of corners.

With Marcus, it was several things. We liked him coming out of Rutgers (2013) and he fit what we did schematically. He’s longer. And from Quentin Harris to Terry to all of our pro scouts, to Adrian Wilson to Malik Boyd, they all loved what he did on tape in the preseason.

He was a guy we focused on. We weren’t sure if he was going to be released or not but liked him enough to call John Dorsey (Chiefs general manager) to see if he’d be willing to move Marcus for a conditional pick.

Now, as you know, we could have rolled the dice and waited until he was released, if in fact that was the case. But being in the position we’re in now, 29th in the claim order, it’s highly unlikely players at that position would be available all the way to 29.

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Q: Did you call cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross in to say, "Hey, take a look at this kid?"

A. Yes. When it gets to be close to pulling the trigger on a trade or claim, generally Coach (Bruce Arians) and I will have a long discussion. And I’d like for Amos Jones (special teams coordinator) and the position coach to get a feel for what the player could do for us. Not only schematically but what he brings to the table on special teams. You’d hate to bring in a guy who isn’t going to contribute on (special) teams. Because how is he going to be active on Sundays? You’d like to have everybody’s thoughts in the process.

Q: Talking to Adrian Wilson during training camp, he mentioned how much video of other players he and other scouts were watching.

A: It’s almost like putting yourself in a cave and you don’t come out other than to get a little sunshine, air and some food. The amount of time they spend going through every roster … It’s kind of like college scouting. You’re out on the road, doing all this work and at the end of the year, you say, "For what? Seven draft picks and 15 college free agents?"

But at the end of the day, it’s one guy like Marcus Cooper who may make a difference. It’s kind of what keeps you going. It’s that nugget out there, that player who comes in and makes a contribution that makes a difference in the season.

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Q: At what point do your scouts come to you and want you to look at a player? You can’t look at everybody.

A: It’s kind of like a funnel system. It’s the same on the college and the pro end. Terry oversees it all. The one thing we try to emphasize that if you see a guy you’re excited about, be aggressive. Come to Terry and then Terry will then come talk to me, then I’ll sit and watch a guy. Because you’re right, I don’t have the time to do that any more. If they (scouts) are emphatic enough about a particular player, I’m going to take a look at him. If I like him, Coach and I will sit and have a conversation. If it makes sense, we have no problem pulling the trigger. That’s one of our philosophies, churning the back end (of the roster) and seeing if we can find another diamond in the rough.

Q: Did any one scout champion Cooper?

A: That’s the one thing, every one of our pro scouts, from Terry to Quentin, Adrian, Malik, Glen Fox, they all felt very strongly this guy could come in and help our team, particularly with the current depth that we have on our roster. Most acquisitions are really a team decision.

All the work you put in the offseason that goes unnoticed, that’s one that on game day, those guys can stick their chests out with a sense of pride.