Mitch

My issue with the Cards' front office is that they have squandered opportunities to shore up immediate needs via free agency so they can use the draft to select the player with the greatest value at each spot...last year's failure to shore up the offensive line prior to the draft cost the Cards the opportunity to draft RB Adrian Peterson.

While I believe that RT Levi Brown will develop into a first rate player, especially with Russ Grimm and John Lott pushing him along, running backs like Peterson don't come along very often. Yes, it's now water under the bridge, so we must move on...but, what about this year?

All indications are that the Cardinals will be preoccupied with signing their own players and will not be a significant player in free agency...thus it looks like the Cards will once again be turning to the draft to address their positions of need.

One has to wonder whether the Cards will have to pass on G Alan Faneca...because of the Fitz, Dansby and Pace negotiations and subsequent cap concerns. Faneca is exactly what this team needs...a bona fide mauler in the middle who will allow Whiz to play the smashmouth brand of football he wants and needs to, not only to control the tempo of games, but to take a significant amount of pressure off of 3rd year QB Matt Leinart. LG Reggie Wells tries hard and did improve, but he's no mauler in the middle.

If Faneca is signed...and we can all rejoice if that happens...especially if the Seahawks go after him and you know they will...as will the Rams, and perhaps even the 49ers...the cap space may be so minimal, there'd be little room for any other decent free agents.

But...how would these defensive free agents look in Cardinal red? How about a trio of OLB Kawika Mitchell (Giants), DE/OLB Travis LaBoy (Titans) and CB William James (Eagles)?

Mitchell becomes the starting WOLB...LaBoy become the nickel pass rushing DE opposite Okeafor...and James becomes the nickel back and 3rd CB.

Mitchell will likely command close to 3.5-4 M per, but could be signed to a cap friendly deal. LaBoy--1.75-2 M neighborhood...and James---1 M per...totals roughly 7 M.

The beauty of those three signings would be that they would give the Cardinals the flexibility to draft for offense if the right offensive players were available to them when they select. For example, with Mitchell, LaBoy and James on board, the Cards could draft one of the following RBs at #16: Jonathan Stewart (Oregon), Rashard Mendenhall (Illinois) or Felix Jones (Arkansas)...or---the Cards could take T Jeff Otah (Pittsburgh) who reminds some of, well, Russ Grimm himself, and would be the LT for the next 10 years.

At #50, the Cards could find RBs such as Ray Rice (Rutgers), Jamal Charles (Texas) or Matt Forte (Tulane)...or be tempted to take one of the following WRs: Devin Thomas (Michigan St.), Mario Manningham (Michigan), Limas Sweed (Texas) or Donnie Avery (Houston)...or snag one of these OL: T Sam Baker (USC), G Chilo Rachal (USC), G Roy Scheuning (Oregon St.) or G/T Chad Rhinehart (Northern Iowa).

At #81, if the Cards want to take the best punter in this draft or in recent drafts, this is where they would have to pounce on Durant Brooks (Georgia Tech)...because he won't until the middle of round 4...no way. And there's no guarantee that Mike Dragosavich (North Dakota St.) will be available in the middle of the 4th round either, as his punts at the Senior Bowl were every bit as long and good as Brooks'.

So...here's my take...

(1) While I appreciate the production the Cards got from Calvin Pace this past season, with Chike Okeafor returning and a perfect match for the SOLB spot, I make an all-out effort to sign Kawika Mitchell as the starting WOLB...he and Dansby on the right side would be an absolute bee's nest , IMO.

(2) Beyond the early pass rushers in this draft like Harvey and Campbell and Merling, there's a significant drop-off, which is why my target would be Travis LaBoy, who posted 6 sacks as a nickel rusher in Tennessee last year.

(3) The Cards did well to tab a free agent CB from the Eagles last year in Rod Hood, and should do so again in signing William James. That said, I do like the CBs in this draft (Cason, Talib, McKelvin, Rodgers-Cromartie)...but I like Eric Green enough to want to pass on a CB in round 1. The 2nd round CB prospects don't excite me enough...save two CBs, who may very well be available at #81: Simeon Castille (Alabama) and Justin King (Penn. St.). But, I still want William James and adding a CB in Rd. 3-6.

Thus...because the RB I like the most, and to me, looks most like an Adrian Peterson-type RB, is likely to be available at #50...I go with the following draft:

1. T Jeff Otah, Pittsburgh

2. RB Matt Forte, Tulane

3. (If P Durant Brooks is available---he's my pick---but, I think he will be off the board in the late second to early third round)--so here's where I look to take CB/FS Simeon Castille or CB Justin King. If neither of them is available...I would hop on FS DeJuan Morgan (NC St.).

4. (My hope would be for P Mike Dragosavich, but, again, I think he'll be gone)...so here's where I go WR and the guy I like is Purdue's Dorien Bryant...if he's gone...I am intrigued with Hawaii's Davone Bess and Oregon St.'s Sammie Stroughter.

5. I want another OLB pass rusher here...so I go with Ezra Butler (Nevada)...

6. Here I get one of the real steals of this draft: ILB JoLonn Dunbar (Boston College)...this guy is a take-it-to-the-house playmaker..I think he had 4 INT TDs in the last two years...

7. If I wasn't able to draft Brooks or Dragosavich, here's where I take Geoff Price (Notre Dame).

Next week I will try to figure out what I would do if, as we may suspect, the Cards don't sign anyone in free agency...but for now this is what I am hoping for. It's not real sexy, I admit. But, in this plan I get 3 immediate contributors on defense (WOLB, pass rushing DE, and a #3 CB) and I get the good T to bookend with Levi, a RB who can hit the holes with a burst and break tackles, depth at DB, WR, OLB, ILB, and a starting punter...and hopefully a stud All-Pro LG in Alan Faneca.

slanidrac16

I always respect your opinion Mitch, but can you tell me why in the world Matt Forte most resembles Adrian Peterson to you?
I don't get to watch to much College football, but I just don't see the comparison.

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Heucrazy

That and no way Ezra Butler lasts until the 5th. Money says he doesn't make it out of the 3rd.

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SuperSpck

I've got no issue with filling needs from the draft, and have always felt Free Agency was something to be entered into lightly and with great care. The Redskin approach doesn't seem to work.

And as much promise as the line showed in year 1 of Grimm-school I can't help but think year 2 will be better, even with another rookie starting. It's not ideal, but the team hasn't built enough depth there yet.

I love your call of a round 1 lineman, but don't know enough about the one you chose to comment on it one way or another. RB at 2 also makes sense, but I too am interested to learn more about Forte.

As for OLB Kawika Mitchell, is he the one who has struggled ala Pace or am I mixing up my Giants?

Mitch

Did you watch the Senior Bowl? Forte was, IMO, by far the best RB there...he's got virtually the same size/speed ratio as AP (6-2, 225, 4.45)...and he attacks the line of scrimmage the way AP does. Forte did not play in a high profile program at Tulane, but he was very productive there. He played behind an extremely young o-line as a junior and despite missing the last three games, rushed for 859 yards and 8 TDs, plus caught 28 passes for 360 yards and 2 TDs.

As a senior...wanna see these stats? 361/2127/5.9/23 TDs...and caught 32/282.

I think that Jonathan Stewart and Rashad Mendehall would fit as well...and if you want to go real sexy, you take Felix Jones, who is lightining in a bottle...but the best all-around back in this draft, IMO, other than Darren McFadden, is Matt Forte.

Mitch

You may be right on the money there, Heucrazy. I was tempted to take him in the 4th and would if none of the WRs I like are there. The one thing that may cause Butler to slide is his lack of height...he's only 6-1, 6-2 at the most. Thus, I do think there's a chance he could slide into the 5th.

joeshmo

Dont think he runs anything higher then a 4.5 at combine or pro day. Dude is slow but he is a banger with really good hands.

Mitch

Which may be why he will be available at #50. But...watch the Senior Bowl tape, this dude ain't slow at all...he has a nice burst in the hole and he breaks tackles.

joeshmo

Dont watch the senior bowl game. It is worthless IMO. Scouts dont even watch it, the whole Cardinals crew left thursday night. Watch the practices though and he did not look fast or quick in the drills to me. Looks about as fast and quick as Brandon Jacobs who is slow as well.

He lasts until the 3rd easily IMO. With guys like Chris Johnson, Kevin Smith, Ray Rice, Charles, and few others who are maybes in Allen PAtrick and Tashard Choice. Dont think 8 RB's get taken off the board by Pick #81, and I think Forte is about the 8th best RB in the draft. Just isnt the way the NFL has worked as of late, and dont think that will change expecially since the NFL is a copy league and they all saw what the RB UDFA's did for GB and NYC.

JeffGollin

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40yearfan

I agree Jeff. If we do nothing else in FA, we should pursue Faneca to solidy our Oline. Hopefully our Pittsburg connection can talk him into coming here without breaking the bank.

WildBB

That is a solid write up Mitch. I think you and I are the only ones clamoring for that extra OL help early in this draft. There are plenty of good OT's coming out this year. It would be a BIG mistake to ignore that early IMO.

Obviously this teams pass defense as it stands is unacceptable. Either Green or Hood WILL experience trouble next season as teams pick on one or the other and exploit the matchup. We need to find further solutions back there. Probobly more than one. Moving Rolle the Saftey FINALLY is a start.

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PT - 42 - 40

Stout

Good call, Jeff. I think that is a huge need, and Faneca is such a perfect fit it would be a crime not to go after him. I think we should still be able to add a quality CB as well, but with Trufant and that Raiders CB being tagged, that might not be easy. I do think we should be able to add Faneca and either a solid CB or OLB.

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cardsfanmd

I like the pick of Otah, and agree that we NEED to get Faneca this offseason. I am not too big on Forte, but I would jump all over Ray Rice in the second.

As far as last year goes, I believe Levi was the correct pick for us. Had we fixed the line due to FA I would have prefered that we went with Landry over Peterson in the draft. He and Wilson would have been the Fitz and Boldin of the D, but better IMO.

Cbus cardsfan

if we don't draft a RB in round 1, then the guy to get is probably Charles from Texas. He seems to have the highest ceiling after the 1st rounders. I agree Faneca is the best fit out there in free agency but there is going to be a high demand for him and when have the Cards even brought in a guy,much less offer, who was a high demand FA. I'm still waiting for Mike Bidwill to "go head to head with Dan Snyder" for any free agent like he so brazenly claimed when trying to get the stadium passed. Face it, while the rest of the NFL shops at Sax 5th avenue,and the likes, the Cards get out their Sam's club ID when March 1st rolls around.

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