How the draft choices could fit

[BullheadCardFan]

Good read from Urban

Link

 

[Chopper0080]

This is the best thing about bringing in Arians IMO. His willingness to work in younger players is a breath of fresh air when compared to Whisenhunt's hard line. I am a firm believer that, for the most part, the only way young players develop is by getting reps and Whis did not manage that well.

Some highlights IMO...

Nice to hear Cooper will be plugged in the starting lineup from day one. He needs the reps and is obviously one of the most athletic players on our line. The more reps he gets now, the better prepared he will be come training camp.

Minter should get every opportunity to beat out Brinkley and he probably should.

Not to harp on the matter, but with the previous regime, I imagine Minter would still be stuck behind Reggie Walker. Nice to see our staff recognizing that vet players like Walker are very replaceable and have already maxed out as far as production.

Mathieu getting big boy reps is reassuring. It is early, but I hope to see Mathieu and Bell as our starting safeties sooner rather than later unless Johnson really takes a big step.

I can't wait for Stepfan Taylor to get to camp and get reps. I think he will be our number 2 RB when the season starts. He is my sleeper going forward as I really like his overall game. There is some Curtis Martin in his makeup, and I really think he will surprise.

Finally, Shaughnessy at OLB is a nice surprise, though I wish they would have signed him to a two year deal if that was the plan from day one. He has shown decent pass rush skill in the past and it would be a shame for him to excell at the outside LB spot this year and then force us to pay next season. He was one of my favorite free agent signings.

 

[iRobot]

This is the best thing about bringing in Arians IMO. His willingness to work in younger players is a breath of fresh air when compared to Whisenhunt's hard line. I am a firm believer that, for the most part, the only way young players develop is by getting reps and Whis did not manage that well.

Some highlights IMO...

Nice to hear Cooper will be plugged in the starting lineup from day one. He needs the reps and is obviously one of the most athletic players on our line. The more reps he gets now, the better prepared he will be come training camp.

Minter should get every opportunity to beat out Brinkley and he probably should.

Not to harp on the matter, but with the previous regime, I imagine Minter would still be stuck behind Reggie Walker. Nice to see our staff recognizing that vet players like Walker are very replaceable and have already maxed out as far as production.

Mathieu getting big boy reps is reassuring. It is early, but I hope to see Mathieu and Bell as our starting safeties sooner rather than later unless Johnson really takes a big step.

I can't wait for Stepfan Taylor to get to camp and get reps. I think he will be our number 2 RB when the season starts. He is my sleeper going forward as I really like his overall game. There is some Curtis Martin in his makeup, and I really think he will surprise.

Finally, Shaughnessy at OLB is a nice surprise, though I wish they would have signed him to a two year deal if that was the plan from day one. He has shown decent pass rush skill in the past and it would be a shame for him to excell at the outside LB spot this year and then force us to pay next season. He was one of my favorite free agent signings.

Cooper should of always been expected to step in day one and own that left guard spot. He's far too athletic to not be given every opportunity to start. He'll be a great pulling guard and cement his position for years to come.

Minter will beat out Brinkley and be opposite of Dansby by season start. Minter is too instinctive and I think Brinkley will show out to be a good 2 down thumper but a big liability in coverage.. Minter will be better in coverage.

I agree about the assessment on veteran players with Whiz. It was often like tenure was considered when it came to some players and didn't matter if they were dropping off in production or were not the best player to be out on the field for game day. Whiz had his favorites and played them IMO.

I think the RB position is going to end up being Mendenhall at first with Williams backing him up. Taylor will slowly get more and more carries, which should phase out Mendenhall and I really think Ellington takes over for Williams. Williams has yet to prove anything beyond that he can get injured consistently. Sad, because I was a huge supporter but I just havent seen anything during games that keeps the faith.

I think the starting safeties for the most part end up being Johnson and Mathieu. We'll see Bell at times too when opposing offenses go into a 2-wide, I-formation type of play and we need the extra run support.

I'm not sold on Shaugnessy at OLB. He's never really been touted as a pass rusher specialist but more of a strong run stopper. Will be interesting to see how OLB plays out and if its Acho/Okafor by season end.

 

[Duckjake]

I agree about the assessment on veteran players with Whiz. It was often like tenure was considered when it came to some players and didn't matter if they were dropping off in production or were not the best player to be out on the field for game day. Whiz had his favorites and played them IMO.

Well let's think about this for a minute. Peterson started 16 games as a rookie. Antonio Smith was allowed to leave as a free agent because Campbell could take over. Daryl Washington started 11 games as a rookie. The Cards benched Porter and Acho started 10 games as a rookie. Massie started 16 games as a rookie.

One problem was the drafts from 2007-2009 simply didn't produce any players who were talented enough to start right away. It was evident Campbell needed some seasoning and Antonio Smith was a solid player in front of him so there was no need and DRC was from Tennessee State so I don't know that he would have been ready right away. And I don't think Elton Brown who started 5 games ahead of Levi was one of Whiz' guys.

It was just a weird time going from long time Cardinal veterans in 2008 and 2009 to a major roster turnover by 2010.