Markus Golden

The Cardinals originally owned the No. 55 overall pick and had long-planned to draft Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah, but he was selected by the Detroit Lions the pick prior (54th overall).

They decided to trade their second round pick (55th overall) to the Ravens in exchange for the Ravens' second round pick (58th overall) and a fifth round pick (158th overall).

The Ravens selected Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams and the Cardinals opted to select David Johnson in the third round (86th overall).

Markus Golden (born March 13, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).

The 2011 Butler team was led by Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.

Despite joining Missouri's team late due to clearinghouse issues, Golden was still able to provide a nice impact, playing in all 12 games (primarily on special teams) and made 10 tackles while forcing one fumble in all.

He was also a major performer on various special teams units.

He was ranked the ninth best defensive end prospect by NFL analyst Charles Davis, was ranked the 12th best defensive end by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and was ranked the 14th best outside linebacker in the draft by DraftScout.com.

As a junior in 2013, Golden played about 40% of the snaps behind Kony Ealy and Michael Sam and led MU ends with 55 tackles on the year, and added 13 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks with 8 passes broken up.

Golden entered his senior season as one of the premier pass rushers in the nation.

He lived up to the hype, recording 21 tackles and 4 sacks in the first three games before a hamstring injury slowed him down and also kept him out of the game vs. Indiana.

Despite this, he still finished the season with 78 tackles and 10 sacks on the season.

He and teammate Shane Ray became the first Missouri teammates to both record double digit sacks in the same season.

On December 24, 2014, it was announced that Golden had accepted his invitation to play in the 2015 Senior Bowl.

Throughout Senior Bowl practices, he impressed scouts and team representatives with his ability to get to the quarterback.

He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Golden has also played for the New York Giants.

Golden was a record-setting running back and linebacker at Affton High School.

His junior season saw him record a school-record 168 tackles and 16 sacks, while he also ran for 1,139 yards and 16 touchdowns.

As a senior, he ran for a record 2,264 yards and 30 touchdowns while also making 108 tackles and 10 sacks.

As a freshman at Hutchinson, Golden made 90 tackles, including 26 tackles for loss and 10 sacks, to go with five forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions.

Hutchinson lost to Butler Community College in the regular season and the KJCCC championship.

On January 24, 2015, Golden played in the Reese's Senior Bowl and made one tackle for a four-yard loss as he played for Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley's South team that lost 34–13 to the North.

He was one of 54 defensive linemen to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Golden ran the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash before suffering a hamstring injury that kept him from completing the rest of the combine drills.

On March 19, 2015, Golden opted to attend Missouri's pro day, along with Shane Ray, Marcus Murphy, Bud Sasser, Mitch Morse, and nine other prospects.

He performed all of the combine drills and bested his times in the 40-yard dash (4.77s), 20-yard dash (2.77s), and 10-yard dash (1.71s) from the combine.

Team representatives and scouts from 30 NFL teams attended, including Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and assistant coaches from Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Golden was projected by NFL draft experts and scouts to be a third to fifth round pick.

The Arizona Cardinals selected Golden in the second round (58th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.

He was the sixth outside linebacker and the first of two outside linebackers selected by the Cardinals, before Shaquille Riddick (158th overall).

On May 14, 2015, the Cardinals signed Golden to a four-year, $3.91 million contract that includes $1.72 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.10 million.

Throughout training camp, Golden competed against Alex Okafor, Lorenzo Alexander, LaMarr Woodley, Shaquille Riddick, and Alani Fua for a job as the starting outside linebacker.

Head coach Bruce Arians named Golden the backup strongside linebacker behind LaMarr Woodley to begin the regular season.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Cardinals' season-opener against the New Orleans Saints and recorded three combined tackles during their 31–19 victory.

He made his first career tackle on Khiry Robinson after he ran for a three-yard gain in the third quarter.

The following week, he had one assisted tackle and had his first career sack during a 48–23 victory at the Chicago Bears.

He made his first career sack with Kareem Martin as they both brought down Chicago Bears' quarterback Jimmy Clausen for a ten-yard loss in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

On October 18, 2015, Golden made his first career start and recorded a season-high six combined tackles during a 25–13 loss at the Steelers.

A previous hand injury also made him unable to do the bench press and he finished 19th among his position group in the 40-yard dash.