TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals haven't won a whole lot of games over the past four seasons.
They're hoping that the addition of some seasoned, successful college players in this week's NFL draft can reverse that trend as first-year coach Mike LaFleur embarks on a rebuild.
The Cardinals took running back Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick on Thursday night, making him the highest draft pick at his position since Saquon Barkley was taken by the New York Giants at No. 2 in 2018. In the second round, they took experienced offensive lineman Chase Bisontis, adding a powerful 6-foot-5, 315-pounder who projects as a potential starter at right guard in his rookie season.
Then in the third round, they took Miami quarterback Carson Beck, who played six college seasons and led the Hurricanes to the cusp of a national championship before falling to Indiana in the title game.
The 6-foot, 212-pound Love was widely viewed as the best offensive playmaker in the draft and helped Notre Dame win 34 games over the past three years.
“Me being drafted No. 3 to come to the Cardinals is a blessing,” Love said. “It's a dream come true. But when I say I want something greater, I'm trying to convey I want something greater, that I'm not complacent. I'm not satisfied from just getting here.
“I want to be a Hall of Famer by the end of my time playing. I want to be one of the greatest running backs in the game. I'm always after something greater.”
Beck's selection in the third round adds even more intrigue to an Arizona quarterback room that features three solid options but no superstars.
Veteran Jacoby Brissett has the inside track for the starting job, but considering he had a 1-10 record as the starter last season, he's hardly untouchable. The Cardinals signed Gardner Minshew during the offseason and he also has starting experience, though he's widely viewed as a journeyman better suited for a backup role.
Then there's Beck, who made 43 college starts at Georgia and Miami. The 23-year-old is about as experienced as college quarterbacks can get coming into the NFL, having played in high-pressure environments in the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences.
“We spent a lot of time with Carson at the combine,” Ossenfort said. “There's no shortage of tape to evaluate on Carson. He's played a lot of ball. Carson played in a lot of big-game, intense environments.”
The Cardinals added a player at a position of need on Friday when they took Bisontis with the No. 34 overall pick.
The beefy 21-year-old has lots of experience, having played in 36 college games over three seasons. He has the ability to play both guard and tackle, bringing versatility that should put him in the mix to start immediately.
“Chase is what you want in a guard,” LaFleur said. “He can move, he can cover people up and he strains to finish.”
The Cardinals took Southeastern Louisiana defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor in the fourth round, grabbing an intriguing prospect who was the first to be selected from the Football Championship Subdivision in the draft.
The 6-foot-2, 291-pound Proctor is slightly undersized but flashed on video, particularly in a stellar performance against LSU. He'll have the opportunity to fight for playing time immediately.
The Cardinals continued their offensive trend in the fifth round, selecting Texas Tech receiver Reggie Virgil.
A lanky 6-2, he had 57 catches for 705 yards and six touchdowns in his lone season with the Red Raiders after transferring from Miami (Ohio). Virgil should add some depth to a receiver room that includes Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson.
Arizona used its sixth-round pick on Iowa linebacker Karson Sharar, who could fight for a spot at the bottom of the roster.
Undersized at 6-1, 231 pounds, Sharar wasn't a starter until his final season, but made the most of it, leading the Hawkeyes with 83 tackles, including 12 for loss.
The Cardinals closed out their draft by selecting Mississippi tackle Jayden Williams in the seventh round. He has average size at 6-4, 307 pounds, but played against quality competition in the SEC. Though he's considered a prospect who needs some refinement, his ability to play at both tackle spots could give him a shot at making the roster.
AP Sports Writer John Marshall contributed to this report.
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Arizona Cardinals NFL football first round draft choice Jeremiyah Love, center, poses for photographs with Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur, right, and general manager Monti Ossenfort after being introduced in a news conference, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
FILE - Miami quarterback Carson Beck (04) runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
Arizona Cardinals NFL football first round draft choice Jeremiyah Love, right, smiles along with Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur before being introduced during a news conference, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
President Donald Trump and other top leaders of the United States were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night after an unspecified threat. There did not immediately appear to be any injuries.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. “Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Donald Trump's attendance at Saturday's annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington for his first time as president is putting his administration's often-contentious relationship with the press on full public display.
Trump arrived Saturday night to an event where the leaders of a nation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet — Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — in a dinner that typically generates debate about whether the relationship between journalists and their sources should include socializing together and putting aside sometimes adversarial relationships.
Trump was being watched closely at the event held by the organization of reporters who cover him and his administration. Past presidents who have attended have generally spoken about the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, adding in some light roasts about individual journalists.
The Republican president did not attend during his first term or the first year of his second. He came as a guest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama, a Democrat, made some jokes about the New York real estate developer. Trump also attended as a private citizen in 2015.
Trump entered the subterranean banquet hall of the Washington Hilton to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” and greeted prominent journalists on the dais, also pausing to laud White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt with a cheerful pointing of his finger.
Past dinners have also featured comedians who poke at presidents. This year, the group opted to hire mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainment.
Trump’s appearance is rekindling a longer running debate about the dinner and events like it — in particular, whether it is poor form for journalists to be seen socializing with the people they cover. The New York Times, for example, stopped attending the dinner more than a decade ago for that reason.
“What was once (a fairly long time ago) a well-intended night of fundraising and camaraderie among professional adversaries is now simply a bad look,” wrote Kelly McBride, ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank.
Between berating individual reporters, fighting organizations like the Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press in court and restricting press access to the Pentagon, the administration’s animus toward journalists has been a fixture of Trump’s second term.
On the eve of the dinner, nearly 500 retired journalists signed a petition calling on the association "to forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of the press.”
The WHCA president, CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang, said the organization was fighting for all different forms of the press that have a line in to the American people. “I don't think people realize how closely we are working with the White House,” she said on CSPAN before the dinner convened. “The relationship is important. It can be complicated. It can be intense. But it is robust.”
Welcoming guests, Jiang alluded to the contentious relationship in thanking Leavitt “for everything your team does to work with us every day, whether you like it or not.”
Veteran reporter Manu Raju of CNN, as he entered the Washington Hilton for the dinner, said it was not his role to express his opinion on Trump's relationship with the press. “I'm not an activist,” he said. “My job is not to protest.”
A few dozen protesters stood across the hotel in the runup to the event. One was dressed in a prison uniform, wearing a Pete Hegseth mask and red gloves. Another carried a sign saying “Journalism is dead.”
Many reporters who attend consider it a valuable opportunity to get story ideas and establish personal connections with those in government, one that may pay dividends with returned telephone calls in the future.
Journalists often invite sources as guests at the dinner. It will be noticed Saturday whether administration officials who have also expressed hostility to the press will attend, and with whom they will be sitting. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was invited by the New York Post; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were NBC guests.
The Associated Press invited a former Trump official that it sued last year. Taylor Budowich, a former White House deputy chief of staff who crafted communications policy, was a named defendant last year when the AP sued the administration after it reduced its access to the president because the news outlet did not follow Trump's lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
“We maintain professional relationships with people across the political spectrum because we are nonpartisan by design — focused on reporting the facts in the public's interest,” AP spokesman Patrick Maks said.
The White House correspondents will also hand out awards for exemplary reporting. That includes some stories that displeased Trump, such as one from the Journal about a birthday message Trump once sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The story led to a presidential lawsuit.
AP journalists Collin Binkley and Sagar Meghani in Washington contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Cheryl Hines pose for photographers at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Donald Trump arrives to the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin speaks to the media after being removed from the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
People are seen outside of the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
President Donald Trump's motorcade arrives at the White House Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A woman is escorted from the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach Fla., Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
