Marcus Trufant-The prototype Cardinal first round pick.

[Lomax to Green 84]

It is starting to become very clear to me. I had hoped that the Cards would show a little moxie and break tradition, but I am starting to believe that Trufant is going to be the guy if Suggs is gone.

Here's why:

1. They will not trade down-The Cards have never traded down. They are probably the most conservative team in the league when it comes to the draft. They will "him and haw "and will not trade down when it comes to crunch time. They will take the entire 15 minutes and then settle on Trufant if Suggs is gone.

2. Trufant is a senior-for the last 8 years outside of David Boston the Cards have always drafted seniors with their first round picks. Rice, Knight, Wadsworth, Shelton, Jones, Davis, Bryant. All seniors, not a single underclassman except for Boston.

3. Trufant fits what the Cards always settle for in a first round pick. He is a solid, well rounded, plays well in all areas type of guy.

Here is why I hate the idea of taking Trufant:

Nothing against Marcus Trufant, he is a good player, but he falls into that category of good at many things, but not exceptional at anything. Just like Bryant, Jones, Knight, and Wadsworth. The Cards always fall victim to getting the well rounded player and end up never getting an impact type of player.

Why did they get impact out of Boston, Rice, and Davis? Because these were guys who were exceptional in at least one area. Rice was obviously weak against the run but he was and still is a hell of a pass rusher. Boston is a weirdo, but he has awesome size and speed and was an exceptional deep threat. Leonard Davis lacked great quickness to be a truly elite left tackle, but he has awesome size and is the most intimidating run blocker in the NFL.

Read up on Marcus Trufant. He fits the "Cookie Cutter" image the Cards want in a first round pick. Good but not awesome speed, decent but not great size, a fluid complete corner but not necessarily a game changer.

I am not the biggest Terrell Suggs fan in the world, but I would take him in a heartbeat over Trufant because Suggs is exceptional in at least one area of his game-rushing the passer. Suggs is the elite guy in the draft at rushing the passer. I would bet if you did a comparison of the available cornerbacks and their strengths, Marcus Trufant would score well in all areas but he would not be the elite guy in any area. That scares the hell out of me.

I would take Marcus Trufant with the 10th pick, but never with the 6th pick. Just my opinion.

 

[Krangodnzr]

1. Trading down is the MOST conservative thing a team can do (it does save money).

2. I think that if you look at most teams you will find that they mostly draft Seniors.

Dude, of all the posters here, I think that you grasp at straws more than anyone else. There is NO indication that the Cards will take Trufant. I honestly think that (mistakenly) they will take Jimmy Kennedy if Suggs is gone.

This is the first time that I have no idea who the team will take. Every other year I basically knew who we would take with our first and even second round picks (last year both I and Redrage knew that we were going to take Fisher)

 

[Lomax to Green 84]

Not really. Jimmy Johnson was the master of trading down and he was the least conservative guy in the draft game. Maybe I should have put "stuck in their ways, treading in quicksand" instead of conservative. Look at the Cardinals draft history. They are conservative to a fault. They traditionally have one pick per round unless they are given an additonal pick because they lose a guy to free agency.

Cards recent draft history:

2002-Did not trade down.
2001-Had tons of offers to trade down from the #2 pick but stayed at #2 and picked a guard.
2000-Did not trade down
1999-Did not trade down
1998-Traded down one spot from 2 to 3, but had offers from Green Bay and New Orleans where both teams were offering their entire draft for a shot at Wadsworth with the 3rd pick. Could also have had Isaac Bruce, Grant Wistrom with the 6th pick and and additional 2nd rounder if they had traded down 3 spots with the Rams.
1997-Did not trade down.
1996-Had quite a few chances to trade the 3rd pick but did not.
1995-Traded their choice for Rob Moore.
1994-Did not trade down
1993-Traded up one spot for Hearst and Earnest Dye.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

Originally posted by Krangthebrain
1. Trading down is the MOST conservative thing a team can do (it does save money).

2. I think that if you look at most teams you will find that they mostly draft Seniors.

Dude, of all the posters here, I think that you grasp at straws more than anyone else. There is NO indication that the Cards will take Trufant. I honestly think that (mistakenly) they will take Jimmy Kennedy if Suggs is gone.

This is the first time that I have no idea who the team will take. Every other year I basically knew who we would take with our first and even second round picks (last year both I and Redrage knew that we were going to take Fisher)

What's wrong with grasping for straws? It's better than grasping for other things...

Personaly, I see no chance of Trufant going in the top 10, unless New Orleans trades up to get him...and I'm a WSU alum, so I should know!

 

[pinnacle]

krang:

I am not 100% convinced that the cardinals interest in trufant (perhaps over suggs and kennedy/robertson) is a bluff...

1. we have not brought in any returners and only 1 corner in free agency..If I understand - trufant and newman are returners. Could say the same about d tackles (thorton was the only one)..

2. trufant is at a 9.10 and newman is a 9.25 in ourlads (10 is the best)..and if you read the descriptions one could wonder why newman is rated higher than trufant..comparable speed, trufant is an 1" taller and 10 lbs heavier.. suggs is a 9.23, kennedy, 9.20 and roberson 9.12...to they all are very comparable. I would not be shocked if the cardinals have trufant 1st on their board..not that I agree - but it could be possible - so could anything else at this stage..

3. we did sign barrett to a 1 year deal - but at a high tender..so you could argue either way on our barrett signing (1. why not give him a long term deal...but 2. why tender him so high if we felt we had to have him back?)...

 

[red desert]

Originally posted by Krangthebrain
1. Trading down is the MOST conservative thing a team can do (it does save money).

2. I think that if you look at most teams you will find that they mostly draft Seniors.

Dude, of all the posters here, I think that you grasp at straws more than anyone else. There is NO indication that the Cards will take Trufant. I honestly think that (mistakenly) they will take Jimmy Kennedy if Suggs is gone.

This is the first time that I have no idea who the team will take. Every other year I basically knew who we would take with our first and even second round picks (last year both I and Redrage knew that we were going to take Fisher)

I agree that if Suggs is gone our pick will be Kennedy. But, ask me tomorrow and I'll probably give you a different answer.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Pac-10 fans can tell you Trufant is no average all around player.. He was one of the best CBs in the nation, not to mention on of the fastest players int he draft, plus he is a deadly punt returner. He is in all aspects a young Terrance Newman.

 

[RLakin]

Originally posted by Mr. Boston89
Pac-10 fans can tell you Trufant is no average all around player.. He was one of the best CBs in the nation, not to mention on of the fastest players int he draft, plus he is a deadly punt returner. He is in all aspects a young Terrance Newman.

Very true. Trufant is younger, taller, as fast and a better tackler than Newman.
Newman may be a bigger playmaker, but he also has some injury questions that Trufant, to my knowledge, does not.

 

[Russ Smith]

Originally posted by Holian
Marcus Trufant would score well in all areas but he would not be the elite guy in any area. That scares the hell out of me.

I would take Marcus Trufant with the 10th pick, but never with the 6th pick. Just my opinion.

But that's because of one thing, there's more competition at CB in this draft than at DE. Hell 2-3 weeks ago Trufant was said to be rated AHEAD of Newman on a lot of boards, now Newman is being discussed at #1 in the whole draft.

He's a very good player, I don't think we'll take him at 6 though I think if he's our guy then we're trying to move down.

 

[RLakin]

Re: Re: Marcus Trufant-The prototype Cardinal first round pick.

Originally posted by Russ Smith
Hell 2-3 weeks ago Trufant was said to be rated AHEAD of Newman on a lot of boards, now Newman is being discussed at #1 in the whole draft.

The two aren't mutally exclusive. Trufant is the #1 CB on some boards, but not Cincinnati's.

 

[Skkorpion]

Trufant passes the eyeball test with me. He looked good when I saw his games but like all good college DBs, teams threw away from his side.

Both Newman and Truffant are outstanding players and picking holes in their games is obstructing the picture of the whole player.

I've learned to trust Russ' opinioins on West coast guys a lot and in Trufant's case, I'm with Russ.

However, I want it on record that ChiCard was the first on this board to opine that Trufant might be our pick.

 

[JeffGollin]

Good but not awesome speed
Didn't Trufant run a 4.37/4.38?

I'm a bit leery of Trufant, too, but none of us have the inside info about the dude that the Card front office does (including whether they rate Newman ahead of Trufant or vice versa). I'm pretty sure that Mac and Rod aren't deliberately trying to make a draft mistake. We have to assume they'd base their decision on pretty good information.

I suspect that Rod and Mac are playing the lying game to the hilt -trying to extort a one-sided trade. (They may trade down. They like Trufant. They like Suggs. They like Kevin Williams. They like Kennedy. Heck! they like everybody!)

If they can get a good enough deal, I think they'll try to trade down, but I'm talking about moving down a couple of pegs for a 2nd or 3rd round pick or moving down further in the first round for more than one extra pick in addition to both #1's.

If they don't get a juicy enough deal, so what? It can't hurt to ask! They'd then keep the pick and draft Suggs, Robertson, Newman, Kennedy or Trufant depending on how their board has them ranked.

That's how I see it.

Final point - if you look at my earliest posts after Jan 1, I rated adding a second shutdown CB ahead of improving the pass rush. Debatable both then and now, but just one person's opinion.

 

[BACH]

Marcus Trufant
War Room analysis
Coverage skills: Has only adequate size; may have some trouble vs. bigger NFL receivers. Is a great natural athlete and a pure cover corner. Gets a nice jump on the ball in zones. Excels at changing directions. Shows burst and quickness out of breaks. Hips are smooth. Can turn and run without losing much in transition. Has good straight-line speed. Finds the ball well when it's in the air. Shows great hands and concentration. Is confident and tough. Grade: 8.5

Run/pass recognition: This is a big strength. Is very aware and shows good feel for zone coverage. Can read quarterbacks' eyes. Doesn't get caught peeking. Shows great natural instincts. Grade: 8.5

Closing speed: Shows quickness and fluid hips when turning; excels at closing. Has some trouble making up for mistakes, however. Lacks a second gear when tracking down the deep ball. Grade: 8.2

Ball skills: Is a natural playmaker. Shows great short-area burst; gets good jumps on underneath throws. Shows good instincts and recognition. Times jumps well. Is aggressive when the ball is in the air. Shows great natural hands. Grade: 8.4

Run support: Is aggressive and willing, but has neither great bulk nor strength. Isn't a huge factor here, but also isn't a liability. Grade: 7.9

Bottom line: Trufant, a starter since his freshman year, missed five games with a broken hand as junior, but he returned to finish the year strong and didn't miss a game as a senior. He was the smoothest and most consistent corner at the Senior Bowl and is ready to start right away in the NFL. He will likely be drafted in the middle of the first round.

Dan Pompei analysis
Solid, steady and consistent four-year producer. Isn't fooled by pump fakes or play action. Jumps routes. Excels in run support, but is reckless at times. Isn't a pure cover man; lacks ideal fluidity and burst. Plays zone very well. Stood out at the Senior Bowl.

 

[RLakin]

Originally posted by JeffGollin
Good but not awesome speed

Final point - if you look at my earliest posts after Jan 1, I rated adding a second shutdown CB ahead of improving the pass rush. Debatable both then and now, but just one person's opinion.

Very legitimate point. Especially if Suggs isn't available (which he won't be) and if the Cards will consider switching to a 3-4.