If you looked at the list previously posted of Keim’s draft history I doubt it filled you with confidence. The issues surrounding pick 1 seem quite clear. Keim can choose to take a certain improvement, selecting between high impact defensive players who have extremely low bust potential. The other option is to appease the new coach and select a talented QB with a high upside but also with a big risk factor. I partially measure draft picks by the gap between their potential and their draft risk. I make that to be a wide factor between the defensive players than I see with the QB.
I keep coming back to a simple conclusion. Add a defensive impact player to the current unit and you have a competitive team for the majority of the schedule for years to come. The QB would be more fun but not necessarily a likely winner. I want to win. The offense will take a couple of years at least and I believe there’s a reasonable chance Rosen can handle a solid offense with decent personnel. We certainly don’t know he can't. Rosen was a top rung prospect, graded highly by most scouts. To toss him aside, take a cap hit and pass on a Pro Bowl player makes little sense to me. I don’t care if they win 17-14, I’ll take it.
Many want to tell me that the league rules are favoring offenses. Hopefully the Super Bowl made it clear that a great defense can still dominate a game. I believe more in the defensive potential than in KK’s vision of a stunning offense. That offense wasn’t good enough to win for KK in college. I’m not opposed to the Cards taking a chance that KK’s offense can be effective with the right personnel but if it requires a QB with more potential than Rosen they better hope Murray is it and that he plays 16 games annually.
I keep coming back to a simple conclusion. Add a defensive impact player to the current unit and you have a competitive team for the majority of the schedule for years to come. The QB would be more fun but not necessarily a likely winner. I want to win. The offense will take a couple of years at least and I believe there’s a reasonable chance Rosen can handle a solid offense with decent personnel. We certainly don’t know he can't. Rosen was a top rung prospect, graded highly by most scouts. To toss him aside, take a cap hit and pass on a Pro Bowl player makes little sense to me. I don’t care if they win 17-14, I’ll take it.
Many want to tell me that the league rules are favoring offenses. Hopefully the Super Bowl made it clear that a great defense can still dominate a game. I believe more in the defensive potential than in KK’s vision of a stunning offense. That offense wasn’t good enough to win for KK in college. I’m not opposed to the Cards taking a chance that KK’s offense can be effective with the right personnel but if it requires a QB with more potential than Rosen they better hope Murray is it and that he plays 16 games annually.