I had a draft epiphany

[Cbus cardsfan]

Whitney Mercilus should be our pick, even at 13. He's the best pass rusher in the draft. He dominated Mike Adams. He led the nation in sacks AND forced fumbles. He has ideal size/weight profile at 6'4 261 with long arms(33 7/8). He has speed (4.63) and strength (27 reps). At the combine and pro day he was extremely fluid athletically and showed he can play OLB.

The knock on him is that he's a 1 year wonder. Big freakin' deal. Maybe he finally put it together and the light went on. Here are some reports on him:

CBSass rush: Very active and plays with top effort on every snap. Moves all around the defensive line, lining up off the edge and inside at defensive tackle. Has the natural speed to win the edge and closes in a flash. Attacks gaps and is a pesky rusher, finding ways to squirm into the backfield. Hard player to block cleanly. Plays with a fighting mentality and has the violent hand usage to battle through the trash and make the play. Hustle player with a nonstop motor.

Walterfootball: The early entry prospect is extremely fast and gets upfield in a hurry. His speed puts offensive tackles on their heels, and he has the athleticism to drop his hips and shoulder to turn towards the quarterback. Mercilus' strength can take linemen by surprise, and he has a powerful bull rush. In run defense, Mercilus anchors and holds his ground well.

 

[crisper57]

Hopefully he has a ton of endurance, because if we don't go OT with our first pick, our D will be on the field a lot.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Hopefully he has a ton of endurance, because if we don't go OT with our first pick, our D will be on the field a lot.

What if the offense just scores fast all the time

 

[crisper57]

What if the offense just scores fast all the time

Safeties, maybe.

 

[Duckjake]

Hopefully he has a ton of endurance, because if we don't go OT with our first pick, our D will be on the field a lot.

Didn't happen much the second half of last season.

 

[crisper57]

Didn't happen much the second half of last season.

Last year, we has a serviceable OL. This year, we literally don't have 2 true tackles on the squad.

 

[earthsci]

Hopefully he has a ton of endurance, because if we don't go OT with our first pick, our D will be on the field a lot.

But we drafted an OT at #5 the last time that we NEEDED one instead of the BPA. Shouldn't that have fixed the problem? He's still on the team. He isn't a true tackle?

 

[crisper57]

But we drafted an OT at #5 the last time that we NEEDED one instead of the BPA. Shouldn't that have fixed the problem? He's still on the team. He isn't a true tackle?

Take Levi out of it. He is the least of our problems right now. Who's the guy lining up on the other side right now?

 

[earthsci]

Take Levi out of it. Who's the guy lining up on the other side right now?

I don't know but I would rather go after somebody who will actually be good at his position and help the team. Will Reiff be any good? Admittedly IDK but I do know that the list is pretty long of players that the Cards have drafted because of need that sucked. Passing up some picks that were more talented, which was obvious even then. We've seemed to get away from that philosophy in recent years. Now we have some solid young players. Do we really want to go back to the old way of doing things?

:edit: ...and take Levi Brown out of it? Really? He is a HUGE example of passing better players for need.

 

[crisper57]

I don't know but I would rather go after somebody who will actually be good at his position and help the team. Will Reiff be any good? Admittedly IDK but I do know that the list is pretty long of players that the Cards have drafted because of need that sucked. Passing up some picks that were more talented, which was obvious even then. We've seemed to get away from that philosophy in recent years. Now we have some solid young players. Do we really want to go back to the old way of doing things?

I hate that we are in this position too. But I think Reiff would be an upgrade over Snyder at Tackle. Sadly, we should not have approached FA in a way that forced us to draft by need, but we literally don't have another true tackle on the team. We only have a G/T hybrid that admits G is his better spot. Couple that with a lack of a 2nd-rounder, and I just can't think of another options.

FWIW, Mark May always hated Levi Brown, even before he was drafted. And he was on the radio the other day saying Reiff is the real deal.

 

[crisper57]

I don't know but I would rather go after somebody who will actually be good at his position and help the team. Will Reiff be any good? Admittedly IDK but I do know that the list is pretty long of players that the Cards have drafted because of need that sucked. Passing up some picks that were more talented, which was obvious even then. We've seemed to get away from that philosophy in recent years. Now we have some solid young players. Do we really want to go back to the old way of doing things?

:edit: ...and take Levi Brown out of it? Really? He is a HUGE example of passing better players for need.

I meant that we don't need to worry about upgrading over Levi this year. We just need to upgrade over ... nothing.

 

[WildBB]

I had an epephany, we drafted McClellin even at 13! - Not.

 

[earthsci]

FWIW, Mark May always hated Levi Brown, even before he was drafted. And he was on the radio the other day saying Reiff is the real deal.

Well I hope that he is if we draft him. It would be great, but what if he's gone? Do we pick the next best OT?

 

[Duckjake]

I meant that we don't need to worry about upgrading over Levi this year. We just need to upgrade over ... nothing.

Once again Jeremy Bridges can play RT. So its not exactly an upgrade over nothing. Therefore we could get a guy in round 3 or 4 who could upgrade that. Like Levy Adcock for instance.

 

[crisper57]

Well I hope that he is if we draft him. It would be great, but what if he's gone? Do we pick the next best OT?

If Kalil and Reiff are gone, maybe we get DeCastro and roll the dice by moving Snyder outside. If all three are gone, I may cry. At that point, BPA (Floyd, Barron?) is the way to go. I would hope if this plays out, we can trade back, pick up a couple more picks, and stock up on OL later.

 

[WildBB]

Once again Jeremy Bridges can play RT. So its not exactly an upgrade over nothing. Therefore we could get a guy in round 3 or 4 who could upgrade that. Like Levy Adcock for instance.

There are going to be a few OL'men who can help us down the line in rounds 3-5. If we pass on Floyd I'd still like to p/u a reciever preferably in rounds 3 or 4.

 

[crisper57]

Once again Jeremy Bridges can play RT. So its not exactly an upgrade over nothing. Therefore we could get a guy in round 3 or 4 who could upgrade that. Like Levy Adcock for instance.

I guess, but I get queasy thinking about yet another year with stop-gap tackles. A 3rd rounder would probably need some development and we really need an upgrade at OL now.

 

[WildBB]

I guess, but I get queasy thinking about yet another year with stop-gap tackles. A 3rd rounder would probably need some development and we really need an upgrade at OL now.

Which is why so many are advocating trading down. Tough to address: RT, #2WR, SOLB, SILB and S with basically a 1st and a 3rd. Especially if you have to pass on an impact player because he's not an OL'man. 4th it's already hard finding contributors.

 

[Jetstream Green]

I still have this gut feeling we are going to draft Barron...and I do not know yet if Barron is causing butterflies of happiness in my gut or it will end up being a stomachache LOL

 

[LDL]

Barring a trade down, I am on the D-side of pick #13, whether that is Ingram , Mercilus (gotta love that name) or Barren. I think we should give our D a chance to get into elite status, versus reaching for a tackle. Now if Kalil is there, then its a no-brainer. But boy-howdy, I hope we can get a dance partner in a trade down.

 

[JeffGollin]

If Kalil and Reiff are gone, maybe we get DeCastro and roll the dice by moving Snyder outside. If all three are gone, I may cry. At that point, BPA (Floyd, Barron?) is the way to go. I would hope if this plays out, we can trade back, pick up a couple more picks, and stock up on OL later.

Most likely to be BPA when we pick is, in my opinion, DeCastro. If so, we should trust our board and pick him.

 

[slanidrac16]

Dream draft:

Trade down with Cincy, pick up a 2nd swapping 4th's.

Pass rush specialist : Whitney Mercilus
Blazing WR Tommy Streeter
OLB Bruce Irvin
OT Brandon Mosley
DT Matt Conrath
P Drew Butler
BPA

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

I am definitely on the mercilus bandwagon...

 

[WildBB]

Dream draft:

Trade down with Cincy, pick up a 2nd swapping 4th's.

Pass rush specialist : Whitney Mercilus
Blazing WR Tommy Streeter
OLB Bruce Irvin
OT Brandon Mosley
DT Matt Conrath
P Drew Butler
BPA

Don't like Streeter. Guys a toothpick. Will be taken apart in the NFL. Stricktly a streaker. The rest are nice p/u's