Detailed explanations for each pick: https://www.arizonasportsfans.com/forum/threads/gandhi-mock-draft.1197351/post-6467916
The game is over for this year. I always think it is a fun exercise, partly because all the research gives me a different perspective than people that don’t spend as much time studying the Cardinals, reading about the Cardinals and focusing on the Cardinals as I and most people on this message board do.
--------------------------------
1 – Monroe Freeling, offensive tackle, Georgia
2 – Jaishawn Barham, edge rusher, Michigan
3A – Carson Beck, quarterback, Miami
3B – Daylen Everette, cornerback, Georgia
4 – Xzavian Harris, defensive tackle, Ole Miss
5A – Mason Reiger, edge rusher, Wisconsin
5B – Bishop Fitzgerald, safety, USC
6A – Riley Nowakowski, H-back, Indiana
6B – Eli Heidenreich, runningback, Navy
7 – Tristan Leigh, offensive tackle, Clemson
-----------------------------------
1 – Based both on very good tape and athletic abilities, Freeling is the only OT with the value of a top three pick. However, because he would have to make the transition from left to right tackle, I would prefer to sell the pick and draft him or another OT a little later in the first round. To me, that is enough to justify that he is not worthy of the #3 overall pick to a team that exclusively needs a right tackle. However, if you cannot find a trade partner, it would be wrong to select anyone else than Freeling.
Actually, I am starting to doubt that OT is even an option at #3 in the real draft. I had thought about it for a while, and then I was listening to Albert Breer explain how Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay traditionally have not used high draft capital on the offensive line. I suppose LaFleur is very inspired by those two, so that makes it an interesting perspective, that I had not thought about.
Certainly, no other OT is ranked that high. So, what do you do? Do you reach for David Bailey? Do you reach for Jermod McCoy? Do you just take Jeremyiah Love?
Point being that I am now seeing this more as a “what-I-would-do-pick” and less what I think will actually happen.
2 – I am aware that a selection of Beck will make many of you question if life is worth living anymore, but I have become more and more convinced that it might be the best solution. I still prefer Simpson somewhere between 25-34, but if they cannot get him, I think that Beck gives them the best chance this season, and then they can reassess the situation next offseason. I know that some of you hope to lose all games this season, and in that case, I understand that you prefer Brissett, but that is just not my approach to this draft.
Another thing, Beck fits the profile of quarterbacks that Ossenfort has brought in much better than Simpson (bigger guy, lots of college experience).
3 – Again, Rueben Bain has the most dominant tape of anyone in the draft, and it is not particularly close. It is spectacular, and it is certainly a fair opinion if you want the Cardinals to draft him. Personally, I cannot take such an outlier-guy in the top three, and I would be shocked if Ossenfort of all people does it, but the fan-wish to do so is certainly valid. And the same can be said for Spencer Fano who might not have the second-best tape of anyone, but then at least among the top five best. Freeling is a much safer pick.
4 – I wanted to sell #3 because I thought that I could land Max Iheanachor or Blake Miller later and get more picks in the process.
Don’t rule out that Ossenfort could trade back to the 8-15 range and target one of them or Kadyn Proctor (Justin Frye heavily recruited him in back-to-back years while at Ohio State).
5 – I obviously didn’t know until then, but because of the pick of Beck, I should have gone into the draft with another strategy. He gives them a chance to win immediately, so I should have helped him some more by drafting Gabe Jacas or Christen Miller in the 2nd. That’s not to say that Barham and Everette were bad picks as they both have star-potential. I just think that their developmental road is a little longer than Jacas’ or Miller’s.
6 – Mason Reiger is the only selection that is not necessarily a great scheme fit, but I just like him a lot. It is fair to argue that it was a bad pick.
7 – I am highly satisfied with the sixth round. Probably neither Nowakowski nor Heidenreich will play that many snaps, but they still play very important roles in LaFleur’s offense, and they will contribute from day one. They are not developmental projects. I feel like I found two impact players in a late round.
8 – I feel like I won the trade with the Lions. Got Harris and Fitzgerald for it. If I had not done it, I would have picked Austin Barber (OT) at #104 and Kaleb Proctor at #143, but I would not prefer that over what I got.
9 – I often see people say things ala “late-round picks never work out, so it doesn’t matter who you pick.” Well, that is a loser mentality since every good team has multiple contributors that were picked in late rounds. So, if you don’t try your best to get those picks right, then you lose.
For that reason, I think that every team has to at least consider Uar Bernard, the athletic marvel from Nigeria, with one of their last picks. He would be the best athlete ever in the NFL, and I heard an IPP-scout (Bernard is from the IPP-program) explain how he expected him to be a practice squad player that truly pushed for a roster spot after three years. I tend to trust that Pete Kwiatkowski can develop a raw player like Bernard.
In the end I chose between two offensive linemen because I think that the Cardinals must get the offensive line fixed. I took Leigh because the picks matter. He is less of a developmental project since he has a lot of experience playing the game and is a great athlete (albeit not to Bernard’s extreme level). Bernard has pretty much unlimited potential, but I don’t think that the Cards have the luxury of taking a wild chance on a major developmental project like that. As I said, though, I do think it is important to have the discussion.
10 – Because of the identity crises I found myself in after picking Beck, I am only partly satisfied with this draft class.
The game is over for this year. I always think it is a fun exercise, partly because all the research gives me a different perspective than people that don’t spend as much time studying the Cardinals, reading about the Cardinals and focusing on the Cardinals as I and most people on this message board do.
--------------------------------
1 – Monroe Freeling, offensive tackle, Georgia
2 – Jaishawn Barham, edge rusher, Michigan
3A – Carson Beck, quarterback, Miami
3B – Daylen Everette, cornerback, Georgia
4 – Xzavian Harris, defensive tackle, Ole Miss
5A – Mason Reiger, edge rusher, Wisconsin
5B – Bishop Fitzgerald, safety, USC
6A – Riley Nowakowski, H-back, Indiana
6B – Eli Heidenreich, runningback, Navy
7 – Tristan Leigh, offensive tackle, Clemson
-----------------------------------
1 – Based both on very good tape and athletic abilities, Freeling is the only OT with the value of a top three pick. However, because he would have to make the transition from left to right tackle, I would prefer to sell the pick and draft him or another OT a little later in the first round. To me, that is enough to justify that he is not worthy of the #3 overall pick to a team that exclusively needs a right tackle. However, if you cannot find a trade partner, it would be wrong to select anyone else than Freeling.
Actually, I am starting to doubt that OT is even an option at #3 in the real draft. I had thought about it for a while, and then I was listening to Albert Breer explain how Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay traditionally have not used high draft capital on the offensive line. I suppose LaFleur is very inspired by those two, so that makes it an interesting perspective, that I had not thought about.
Certainly, no other OT is ranked that high. So, what do you do? Do you reach for David Bailey? Do you reach for Jermod McCoy? Do you just take Jeremyiah Love?
Point being that I am now seeing this more as a “what-I-would-do-pick” and less what I think will actually happen.
2 – I am aware that a selection of Beck will make many of you question if life is worth living anymore, but I have become more and more convinced that it might be the best solution. I still prefer Simpson somewhere between 25-34, but if they cannot get him, I think that Beck gives them the best chance this season, and then they can reassess the situation next offseason. I know that some of you hope to lose all games this season, and in that case, I understand that you prefer Brissett, but that is just not my approach to this draft.
Another thing, Beck fits the profile of quarterbacks that Ossenfort has brought in much better than Simpson (bigger guy, lots of college experience).
3 – Again, Rueben Bain has the most dominant tape of anyone in the draft, and it is not particularly close. It is spectacular, and it is certainly a fair opinion if you want the Cardinals to draft him. Personally, I cannot take such an outlier-guy in the top three, and I would be shocked if Ossenfort of all people does it, but the fan-wish to do so is certainly valid. And the same can be said for Spencer Fano who might not have the second-best tape of anyone, but then at least among the top five best. Freeling is a much safer pick.
4 – I wanted to sell #3 because I thought that I could land Max Iheanachor or Blake Miller later and get more picks in the process.
Don’t rule out that Ossenfort could trade back to the 8-15 range and target one of them or Kadyn Proctor (Justin Frye heavily recruited him in back-to-back years while at Ohio State).
5 – I obviously didn’t know until then, but because of the pick of Beck, I should have gone into the draft with another strategy. He gives them a chance to win immediately, so I should have helped him some more by drafting Gabe Jacas or Christen Miller in the 2nd. That’s not to say that Barham and Everette were bad picks as they both have star-potential. I just think that their developmental road is a little longer than Jacas’ or Miller’s.
6 – Mason Reiger is the only selection that is not necessarily a great scheme fit, but I just like him a lot. It is fair to argue that it was a bad pick.
7 – I am highly satisfied with the sixth round. Probably neither Nowakowski nor Heidenreich will play that many snaps, but they still play very important roles in LaFleur’s offense, and they will contribute from day one. They are not developmental projects. I feel like I found two impact players in a late round.
8 – I feel like I won the trade with the Lions. Got Harris and Fitzgerald for it. If I had not done it, I would have picked Austin Barber (OT) at #104 and Kaleb Proctor at #143, but I would not prefer that over what I got.
9 – I often see people say things ala “late-round picks never work out, so it doesn’t matter who you pick.” Well, that is a loser mentality since every good team has multiple contributors that were picked in late rounds. So, if you don’t try your best to get those picks right, then you lose.
For that reason, I think that every team has to at least consider Uar Bernard, the athletic marvel from Nigeria, with one of their last picks. He would be the best athlete ever in the NFL, and I heard an IPP-scout (Bernard is from the IPP-program) explain how he expected him to be a practice squad player that truly pushed for a roster spot after three years. I tend to trust that Pete Kwiatkowski can develop a raw player like Bernard.
In the end I chose between two offensive linemen because I think that the Cardinals must get the offensive line fixed. I took Leigh because the picks matter. He is less of a developmental project since he has a lot of experience playing the game and is a great athlete (albeit not to Bernard’s extreme level). Bernard has pretty much unlimited potential, but I don’t think that the Cards have the luxury of taking a wild chance on a major developmental project like that. As I said, though, I do think it is important to have the discussion.
10 – Because of the identity crises I found myself in after picking Beck, I am only partly satisfied with this draft class.
He likely is a tremendous scheme fit.
