If you’re one of those people who likes to get to the theater an hour before the film starts to get just the right seat, this was your kind of draft. As I saw it, the Cards took several players very early to assure they got their men. This often happens when a team’s draft position is low in each round. They become victims of their own success. Frankly this is not a situation the Cards’ have had much historical experience in handling. I will say this for the Cards overall; no team selected a better group of athletes. This group has talent; however, that shouldn't be confused with production. Look for people grading the Cards’ draft to be all over the place. None should be really bad, but they could vary from A to C. I was surprised they didn't take players who would likely have more immediate impact. I’m going to look at the first three picks individually then group the others so these posts don’t become too cumbersome.
DJ Humphries would have been the first tackle selected if he had played up to his abilities in college. He has the best feet of the tackles. He has excellent agility and balance. He has adequate strength. He also misses too many blocks and has looked fragile. Teams quickly determined they could beat him the same way they beat Massie. They split a speed rusher out a yard or two and that rusher often just ran by DJ. As you could see from the media I posted, it wasn't pretty and did prove costly.
Run blocking is another concern. His skill set says he should be great. His results were mediocre. He had trouble identifying second level targets. As such he often missed them. He seemed willing enough, which almost scares me more. He seems confused by complex defensive alignments. He didn’t pancake people but moved them more laterally, often into the intended hole. Running backs may find the hole to be a moving target and will have to hit it quickly.
DJ has not been healthy enough to play a full season in college. Few players of that ilk prove more durable in the NFL.
Being based in Florida I saw him often and heard about him constantly. A frequent rap on him was that he tended to play down to the competition. For example, he had a sub-par game against Toledo.
The NFL Draft Advisory Committee told him to return to school. I have to wonder if he listens well to coaching. Few people with whom I spoke liked him as a round 1 selection.
After all this, he is much like many of the players the Cards took in this draft. One of the serious failures of this team through the years has been coaching up the players selected. Often they have had potential solutions on the roster only to squander them with poor coaching. If this guy realizes his potential, this will be a great pick. If he plays like he did in college, he’s no upgrade. That said, he could more inside to right guard or play right tackle in which case Massie could move to guard. So both current projected starters should feel threatened, which is never a bad thing.
DJ Humphries would have been the first tackle selected if he had played up to his abilities in college. He has the best feet of the tackles. He has excellent agility and balance. He has adequate strength. He also misses too many blocks and has looked fragile. Teams quickly determined they could beat him the same way they beat Massie. They split a speed rusher out a yard or two and that rusher often just ran by DJ. As you could see from the media I posted, it wasn't pretty and did prove costly.
Run blocking is another concern. His skill set says he should be great. His results were mediocre. He had trouble identifying second level targets. As such he often missed them. He seemed willing enough, which almost scares me more. He seems confused by complex defensive alignments. He didn’t pancake people but moved them more laterally, often into the intended hole. Running backs may find the hole to be a moving target and will have to hit it quickly.
DJ has not been healthy enough to play a full season in college. Few players of that ilk prove more durable in the NFL.
Being based in Florida I saw him often and heard about him constantly. A frequent rap on him was that he tended to play down to the competition. For example, he had a sub-par game against Toledo.
The NFL Draft Advisory Committee told him to return to school. I have to wonder if he listens well to coaching. Few people with whom I spoke liked him as a round 1 selection.
After all this, he is much like many of the players the Cards took in this draft. One of the serious failures of this team through the years has been coaching up the players selected. Often they have had potential solutions on the roster only to squander them with poor coaching. If this guy realizes his potential, this will be a great pick. If he plays like he did in college, he’s no upgrade. That said, he could more inside to right guard or play right tackle in which case Massie could move to guard. So both current projected starters should feel threatened, which is never a bad thing.
