1 – I strongly disagree with people saying that you can’t evaluate a draft class this soon after the event. You obviously can’t predict how it will turn out, but you can certainly evaluate it based on your expectations and own rankings. Which is what I do, and what a lot of people do.
2 – I guessed Mr. Irrelevant! It was obviously pure luck since it is basically impossible, but still! With every Cardinals pick I start to make a mental list of possibilities and who I would like them to pick about three-five picks before. It is based on draft history, draft trends, scheme fits and so on. This year it materialized with Zach Allen and Caleb Wilson, and I kind of had a hunch that they would be interested in Andy Isabella (but not at all with a pick that high) and Joshua Miles.
3 – I want to congratulate all of you who wanted Hakeem Butler with the first pick in the fourth round – and I know it was a lot of you. I am happy for you. Personally I did not think he represented good value at that point, and I didn’t think he was a fit in K2’s offense. After hearing that K2 himself thinks that Butler is a fit, my view on that is obviously completely wrong and irrelevant, and I guess a fourth round pick for a height-weight-speed prospect is okay.
4 – I was really happy when they traded Rosen – both for the good of the team and for the good of Rosen. However, I can’t tell you how disappointed I was when the pick turned out to be Isabella. I mean, he might be a good fit, but in the 2nd round? You got to be kidding me! The pick instantly reminded me of the Chase Edmonds-pick last year since I also kind of expected that they had interest in him, but as soon as the 4th round? Give me a break! Having said that, K2 seemed thrilled with the pick in the video from the war room. I tend to take those videos with a grain of salt, just because of the risk that the people in them are fully aware they are being taped and thus can act accordingly to what is in their own best interest. Anyway, with that caveat, he sure seemed happy.
5 – If you haven’t seen the video of Rosen saying goodbye to Arizona and hello to Miami, I strongly recommend that you do so. It is so classy that it really moved me. Did anyone else afterwards have the feeling that it was – definitely unintended - a huge F YOU to Michael Bidwill, Steve Keim and K2? I mean, for how bad they treated him? If he had blasted them, it would have been easy to just laugh at it and forget about him, but they have got to have a sour taste in their mouth after seeing how he handled himself as a bigger person than them.
6 – Ultimately, how you evaluate the entire draft class doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is if Murray becomes a success or a failure, and that – only that – is what will determine the result of this class.
7 – Safe to say that they thought Joshua Miles, Michael Dogbe and Caleb Wilson would be the three most coveted undrafted free agents from their draft board. To me, that’s kind of exiting.
8 – I think the defensive guys picked are great fits in Vance Joseph’s defense. I didn’t want Byron Murphy in the 2nd round, but after thinking some more about it, he could match what Joseph did with the cornerbacks in Denver, and Murphy should also be able to play as the 3rd cornerback on the field. I am thrilled with the Zach Allen-pick! I really think he will be a monster at 5-tech in their base defense. Deionte Thompson in the 5th round? Steal! I think he can complement Budda Baker and Swearinger really well. I must admit that I do not know about Michael Dogbe, but based on their previous picks I am just going to assume he fits well too.
9 – Caleb Wilson was Josh Rosen’s tight end at UCLA for two years. Ironic, right?
10 – Like I said, I kind of had a hunch that they would be interested in Joshua Miles, but I must also admit that I didn’t base it on watching game tape, since I was not able to find any, but I read a lot of good things about him, and I guess it came down to how I thought the offensive tackle-pool was running empty. They always draft an offensive tackle, so I just assumed they would do so again.
11 - Also, I think it is quite obvious that offensive line coach, Sean Kugler, signed off on both Gaillard and Miles since they were both picked later on. The third round is for developmental players, so I think it would be really strange if Keim and K2 decided for themselves who the position coaches would like to work with.
12 – You could argue that in the end the prize for one year with Josh Rosen ended up being a little less than a first round pick. They got back the fifth rounder and they got a second rounder where they paid a third rounder. That’s not that expensive to give your new perceived offensive wizard the best chance of success.
13 – At his press conference after day two Keim literally said that the four players they had drafted at that point all was ranked in their top 35. That’s basically four first round picks. How stupid does he think we are? So, when approaching the start of the third round you have at least two players with first round grades, but you don’t trade up for any of them? Really? I understand that they might have unsuccessfully tried just that, but if so, don’t you pay a little more than you would have liked? Then, at his review press conference he said that including KeeSean Johnson in the sixth round, the first three players selected at day three where ranked in their top 60. If you have a player ranked as #60 at the worst, and you are approaching pick 174 – AND you have multiple late round picks to use as trading pieces – you simply stayed put and hope for the best? I mean… If you want to sell your achievements to the fans, at least come up with some realistic explanations.
14 – Shoot, there were a number of players that I wanted them to select among the undrafted free agents, but so far, most of them has reportedly been picked up by other teams. Not that it is official yet, but the reports have been ticking in since the selection process ended. There are still players I like out there, so maybe they will still get one or two of them.
15 – So what did we learn about K2’s offensive system? Well, I don’t know. Maybe that he and Sean Kugler favors tough, hard-nosed offensive linemen? Couple Gaillard and Miles with free agent-signings Marcus Gilbert, J.R. Sweezy and Max Garcia and it paints a picture. Other than that, they selected three different types of wide receivers, and free agent-signing Kevin White is probably a mix between Hakeem Butler and KeeSean Johnson. Okay, Kyler Murray and Caleb Wilson probably tells us something, though nothing new and surprising.
