Andre Johnson/Boston Theory

[RLakin]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfldraft/columnist?id=1519382

Sounds familiar doesn't it. The Cards tend to think so, which exactly why their receivers coach was down to Miami to watch this workout. Right now I'm projecting that the Cards will take Johnson w/ the 6th overall pick.
And for those of you that think Boston wouldn't have come w/ a 1st round price tag, consider this: Johnson is 20 pounds lighter, about as fast as Boston and only 3 years younger.
Now, Johnson is also expected to be top 10, if not top 5 pick in this years draft.
So tell me again now how an NFL receiver w/ 4 years experience and two 1,000 yard seasons at 24 years of age could not garner a 1st round pick.
Also consider that Baltimore is interested in Johnson with the 10th pick and they liked Boston as well. Now few draft experts feel Johnson will make down to #10. Baltimore knows this. So if they really wanted a big receiver w/ breakaway speed they could (theoretically) traded the 10th pick to AZ for the rights to Boston. This makes even more sense when you consider that San Diego was Boston's first choice and only visit, therefore Baltimore’s only chance of acquiring Boston this off-season would have been via a trade. It gets even worse when you consider that San Diego, as evidenced by their contract offer, wanted Boston really bad as well and may have entered a bidding war for his services. So now you're talking a 1st pick and some change for Boston.
And even those who cite questions about Boston's character can't deny there was a market for Boston even after the Cardinals tried to sabotage his value and (thus) protect themselves PR wise with their publicly made concerns.
So there you have it, the Cards quest for PR protection costs them a 1st round draft pick.

 

[Skkorpion]

Rod, I usually like your stuff

but that whole diatribe you put up is lame nonsense.

Tell you what I'll do. Just like two years ago when a bunch of people online swore that David Terrell was the best pick in the draft and it was a sure thing we'd pick him, I'll take the same postion I did then:

We will not draft Andre Johnson, or any other WR, with our 1st pick, even if we trade down. Assertions to the contrary will be proven wrong.

Furthermore, I'll guarantee that Andre Johnson will NOT be a top 5 pick, and I doubt very much if he'll go top ten.

Rod, be sure to come back in 7 weeks and apologize for your boneheaded prediction.

 

[RLakin]

Re: Rod, I usually like your stuff

Originally posted by Skkorpion
We will not draft Andre Johnson, or any other WR, with our 1st pick, even if we trade down. Assertions to the contrary will be proven wrong.

You're going against history then. The Cards have used 16 1st round picks on offense since the merger. 1/4 of those picks have been wide receivers. Furthermore, the last time a 1st round pick was used a quarterback was 1987 which was over a decade before the Cards last used a 1st round pick on a WR.

The David Terrell analogy is a bad one, and for the record, I was not one who believed the Cards would draft him. The Cards had Rob Moore, David Boston, Frank Sanders and Martay Jenkins on their roster that year, so it was pretty obvious that Terrell was not an option. This year the Cards have McAddley, Poole, Soliday, and Kasper which is hardly a comparable quartet of receivers.

And while I’m not ready to commit totally to the Cards drafting Johnson, I will give you my personal and professional guarantee that Johnson will be a top 10 selection in this years draft.

 

[Brian]

Say we wanted a reciever, and say both were available at #6....

Rogers or Johnson?

I haven't seen enough of Rogers to form an opinion. I have also heard alot of buzz about Johnson lately which leads me to believe his stock is rising.

 

[RLakin]

Originally posted by HarleyRider
I have also heard alot of buzz about Johnson lately which leads me to believe his stock is rising.

You would be correct in that assumption. In fact, some teams have Johnson higher on their boards than Rogers after Rogers measured in at a shorter than expected 6'2" at the combine. He was listed at 6'4" while at MSU.
Johnson will be considered by Det at #2, Hou at #3, AZ at #6, Jax at #8 and Car and Bal at #9 and #10 if he gets that far, which he probably won't.
Dallas could also be looking to trade their #5 pick, and the prospect that teams will be looking to move up and get is Johnson. Baltimore and Washington will consider this, but Washington would have to make their deal w/ Hou at #3 or Min at #7.