National Football League

Keim's draft approach still evolving

Published Apr. 29, 2015 3:58 p.m. ET

foxsports

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Steve Keim is no stranger to the NFL Draft. Before he became the Cardinals general manager in 2013, he served 15 seasons in the team's personnel department in a variety of roles.

Two years in the big chair, however, provided a fresh perspective and some new lessons that Keim takes into this week's draft.

"Instead of being a good talker I have become a better listener," Keim said. "You have a lot of different opinions in the room that matter, so not only do coach (Bruce Arians) and I have a lot of conversations about individual players, but we have to listen to what our coaches have to say, what our staff has to say.

"Those guys put a tremendous amount of time and effort into the process and you have to respect everybody's opinions, whether you agree or not. We have some healthy debates in there and it's exactly what you look for; you look for some variance in opinions. To me, that's how you always arrive at the right grade."

In assessing his track record in the previous two drafts -- and drafts before that when he served in a different role -- Keim said he missed more on heart, character and intelligence than he did on playing ability. He added, however, the glut of information coming from the Scouting Combine and individual workouts can both overload and cloud the staff's judgment of a player.

"I say this all the time with our scouts: We go out in the fall and we fall in love with our players and then we confuse ourselves in the spring," he said. "I remind them, 'Unfortunately, guys, we're not going to run a three-cone at 1:00 on Sunday.' You have to put the majority of stock into what you see on tape."

"I've always wondered to myself: How much more accurate would our drafts be if we had them right after the season and we didn't put as much stock into the jumping and the testing and the running? Again, it's all part of the puzzle. I understand in this game you have to have a certain skill set and certain measurables to play a certain position in the National Football League, but at the end of the day it comes down to production and what kind of player you are on tape."

Here's a look at Keim's first two drafts as GM, with quick thoughts on each player selected:

Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter