Meat to the Wolves: My Preliminary QB list for the draft

[RugbyMuffin]

Go at it. I already know how well received my top guy will be. LOL!

1st Round
A. Lamar Jackson, Louisville
B. Josh Rosen, UCLA
C. Sam Darnold, USC
D. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
E. Josh Allen, Wyoming

2nd Round
A. Mason Rudolph*, Oklahoma St. <-- Could go in the 1st from what I have read/seen.

3rd Round
A. Luke Faulk, Washington St. <-- Could go in the 1st or 2nd from what I have read/seen.

4th Round
A. Logan Woodside, Toledo
B. Nic Shimonek, Texas Tech
C. Kurt Benkert, Virginia

5th Round
A. Kyle Lauletta, Richmond
B. Riley Ferguson, Memphis
C. Alex McGough, Florida International

6th Round
A. Chase Litton, Marshall
B. Matt White, Western Kentucky

7th Round & UDFA
A. Nick Stevens, Colorado State
B. Kenny Hill, TCU
C. Austin Allen, Arkansas
D. Tanner Lee, Nebraska
E. Brandon Silvers, Troy
F. Johnny Stanton, UNLV
G. Wilton Speight, Michigan


Now go nuts telling me how wrong I am.

 

[DVontel]

I love it.

 

[TJ]

Rudolph in the second and Falk in the 3rd are great value picks

 

[juza76]

I just differ about Lauletta
It s a day 2 pick pretty much guarantee

 

[football karma]

I subscribe to the "if they werent accurate in college, they wont be in the pros" rule

Jackson and Allen are eliminated from round 1 for me

 

[BW52]

Nice list.I like Jackson also.I do
Think people will overanalyze all these guys .Go with who your films and eyeball tests shows you.

 

[oaken1]

Go at it. I already know how well received my top guy will be. LOL!

1st Round
A. Lamar Jackson, Louisville
B. Josh Rosen, UCLA
C. Sam Darnold, USC
D. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
E. Josh Allen, Wyoming

2nd Round
A. Mason Rudolph*, Oklahoma St. <-- Could go in the 1st from what I have read/seen.

3rd Round
A. Luke Faulk, Washington St. <-- Could go in the 1st or 2nd from what I have read/seen.

4th Round
A. Logan Woodside, Toledo
B. Nic Shimonek, Texas Tech
C. Kurt Benkert, Virginia

5th Round
A. Kyle Lauletta, Richmond
B. Riley Ferguson, Memphis
C. Alex McGough, Florida International

6th Round
A. Chase Litton, Marshall
B. Matt White, Western Kentucky

7th Round & UDFA
A. Nick Stevens, Colorado State
B. Kenny Hill, TCU
C. Austin Allen, Arkansas
D. Tanner Lee, Nebraska
E. Brandon Silvers, Troy
F. Johnny Stanton, UNLV
G. Wilton Speight, Michigan


Now go nuts telling me how wrong I am.

I like Lamar too... I would be cool with Keim drafting him at 15 if he is on the board. Previously I had him pegged as a second rounder...and he might still be... but he wont last until 47 so if we grab him at 15 I am cool with that.

Lots of folks under rate the guy.. he is basically a bigger michael Vick,...with better college stats as a passer.....and Vick went #1 overall..

I think with pro coaching Lamar will develop way past Vick and will make some team a very good franchise QB

 

[GimmedaBall]

Rugbymuffin,

Great list. Thanks for sharing your extensive rating.

Anybody in your top 5 that would be worth it in draft picks (say the next 3 1st round picks) for the Cards to move up into rounds 1-10 to select?

Which QB do you see falling to the Cards if they stay put at #15.

Which QB do you think can come in and be an immediate starter?

I think New Orleans is a team to be worried about jumping in front of us if someone like Mayfield is on the board. One 6ft QB in Brees mentoring another in Mayfield. So, which teams do you think the Cards need to be worried about in terms of jumping ahead of us?

Where do you draw the line between 'Sure Starter,' 'Career Backup' and 'Camp Arm' in your list.

 

[overseascardfan]

Gambo insists ARZ feels there are 5 first round QB's so your list may reflect their big board. I know Jackson is knocked for his inaccuracy (LOU WRs dropped 12% of their passes) and he doesn't go through all his reads but if he is there and Mayfield isn't I would take him. Board critics will say you can't take the 5th best QB at #15 because of BPA but what's the alternative getting the 10th best QB in Round 2? ARZ needs QB's (they have none on their roster now). Lamar Jackson struggled in big games but I think ARZ goes with a veteran and lets Jackson develop.

 

[oaken1]

Gambo insists ARZ feels there are 5 first round QB's so your list may reflect their big board. I know Jackson is knocked for his inaccuracy (LOU WRs dropped 12% of their passes) and he doesn't go through all his reads but if he is there and Mayfield isn't I would take him. Board critics will say you can't take the 5th best QB at #15 because of BPA but what's the alternative getting the 10th best QB in Round 2? ARZ needs QB's (they have none on their roster now). Lamar Jackson struggled in big games but I think ARZ goes with a veteran and lets Jackson develop.

I agree.

also...nothing wrong with taking the fifth QB at 15 as long as the draft is at least five QB's deep...and this draft is.
depending how you rate it may be more than five... lots of people have Mason Rudolph rated as a first round QB

I think Josh Allen will be the riser in this draft... he took well to the coaching he got at the senior bowl and it translated to the field very well... teams like that... had his college season looked like his senior bowl performance he would have been in the #1 overall discussion months ago. Then there are all the ties and comparisons to Carson Wentz...which Allen is smartly riding as far as he can.

 

[az jam]

No no no on Lamar Jackson. He should be a WR in the NFL!!!
You have him ranked the best QB in the draft, get real!!!

Now the above is what all the media pundits will say.

However, although I don't rate him at the top, I can see him going in late round one. It will be good to see how he does at the Combine and workouts.

 

[MartinD]

I get the feeling that I'm the only one not enamored of Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold. They get the love, they get the hype, but I'm hoping they're gone by the time the Cardinals pick.

 

[oaken1]

I get the feeling that I'm the only one not enamored of Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold. They get the love, they get the hype, but I'm hoping they're gone by the time the Cardinals pick.

unless we trade into the top 3 they will be.

 

[blindseyed]

Good comprehensive list Rugby, it will be really interesting to see who jumps and who drops after the combine etc...it always seems players rise and fall during this time of year because they get looked into very closely sincet the season is over and teams can focus ALL their attention on them

 

[Heucrazy]

Lauletta goes in round 2 bank on it. I wouldn’t be upset if he went to the Cards there either

 

[don7031]

Maybe its been the build up or feeling like the Cardinals are being forced to take a quarterback, but I'm at the point where I don't want any of them.

I see Cleveland taking Darnold first overall. It's sexy to have them going best available with the top pick then taking a qb at number four but they really can't afford to pass on Peyton Manning to take Ryan Leaf (again - Wentz & Watson).

The Giants take Rosen as they can't pass on the opportunity to draft that highly rated of a prospect to replace Eli Manning.

Josh Allen is considered to have the most upside of the prospects. He'll be gone in the top ten.

The Colts or the Browns may entice the Jets or Broncos to move up to secure their quarterback of the future. I wouldn't be surprised to see qb's go 1,2,3 this year.

Kirk Cousins should figure in the mix somewhere.

And the Bills are sitting their with two first round picks to barter for a spot ahead of the Cardinals.

Five quarterbacks could be taken prior to the Cardials being on the clock.

 

[MrYeahBut]

I have a feeling the new coaching staff has the chops to get a young QB up and running. Nothing specific to back it up, just a good feeling about it. Not without growing pains, but steady improvement. I don't see a bust happening.

 

[GimmedaBall]

How many of the following players would you be willing to trade for the draft spot to select your favorite QB from RugbyMuffin's list?:

Hasson Reddick, Nkemdiche, DJ Hump, DBuc, JCooper (if he were still on the team)

Those are the last five #1 picks by the Cards. While I prefer to not trade away a bushel basket of future draft picks, it doesn't like SK is making much use of those picks anyways. The jury is still out on a few of the players---but a 1st round pick is someone who has to be a core player, contribute right away, and be someone who shows up in the Pro-Bowl, top 10 at his position, etc. Don't know if SK's picks needed a redshirt year . . . or if BA had them sit to show his displeasure at not getting a FQB in any of SK's draft.

The only sure bet to make on the NFL is that at the end of the season there will be only 1 team with a SB trophy and 31 LOSERS.

 

[Ohcrap75]

This would be my layout exactly. Not sure this has ever happened before... Either your as smart as me or as dumb... hopefully the former!

 

[Solar7]

Maybe its been the build up or feeling like the Cardinals are being forced to take a quarterback, but I'm at the point where I don't want any of them.

I see Cleveland taking Darnold first overall. It's sexy to have them going best available with the top pick then taking a qb at number four but they really can't afford to pass on Peyton Manning to take Ryan Leaf (again - Wentz & Watson).

The Giants take Rosen as they can't pass on the opportunity to draft that highly rated of a prospect to replace Eli Manning.

Josh Allen is considered to have the most upside of the prospects. He'll be gone in the top ten.

The Colts or the Browns may entice the Jets or Broncos to move up to secure their quarterback of the future. I wouldn't be surprised to see qb's go 1,2,3 this year.

Kirk Cousins should figure in the mix somewhere.

And the Bills are sitting their with two first round picks to barter for a spot ahead of the Cardinals.

Five quarterbacks could be taken prior to the Cardials being on the clock.

Man, I can agree with this. The future here is just so uncertain, and I think 4 QBs end up going before #15. Getting the last guy is going to feel like the world's biggest consolation prize, and I'd almost rather wait until the 2nd to make our pick. Last year I was really sold on Watson & Mahomes and now I can't muster up the excitement for any of them.

How many of the following players would you be willing to trade for the draft spot to select your favorite QB from RugbyMuffin's list?:

Hasson Reddick, Nkemdiche, DJ Hump, DBuc, JCooper (if he were still on the team)

Those are the last five #1 picks by the Cards. While I prefer to not trade away a bushel basket of future draft picks, it doesn't like SK is making much use of those picks anyways. The jury is still out on a few of the players---but a 1st round pick is someone who has to be a core player, contribute right away, and be someone who shows up in the Pro-Bowl, top 10 at his position, etc. Don't know if SK's picks needed a redshirt year . . . or if BA had them sit to show his displeasure at not getting a FQB in any of SK's draft.

The only sure bet to make on the NFL is that at the end of the season there will be only 1 team with a SB trophy and 31 LOSERS.

I just don't like this argument. Only one of these were top ten picks. Most of them were taken in the 20s.

The counter to your argument is: Would you have rather traded up in 2010 to get Sam Bradford, or have had the opportunity to draft Patrick Peterson the next year?

 

[Hypothesis]

Lauletta goes in round 2 bank on it. I wouldn’t be upset if he went to the Cards there either

Lauletta has a lot of positives for sure. He's had 4 different OC's and has shown improvement every year. He's well versed with using his eyes to lock the deep safety in place. He goes through progressions. He is a tireless worker when it comes to studying defenses and learning playbooks. And he is a very quick decision maker. This will all serve him well when he makes it into the NFL.

However, I still don't see him getting drafted until rounds 4-6, late 3rd at the earliest (I wouldn't be upset if we used our second 3rd on him if Keim and Co like him). There are still too many question marks with him. He lacks a natural NFL caliber arm. He has to put more behind each pass to get the zip that comes naturally to others. His deep ball is very inconsistent. He frequently throws high to his receivers in deep crossing, post and seam routes causing them to have to jump for the ball and take big hits or get no YAC. Many of his out routes lack the needed zip. He puts way too much air under his deep throws for the NFL right now. He played against very weak competition and many of his completions were to wide open receivers. In the NFL he'll have to show he can make those completions in tight windows. While his completion percentage was high, it drastically dropped off on 3rd downs against poor competition. He also lead a team that only converted 41% on 3rd down.

Lauletta is a major project whose deficiencies can be corrected with good coaching. He has the will and desire to learn and has continued to improve and truth be told, I'd really like to see him wearing Cardinal Red, but with all the FA QB's hitting the market and the deep class in this draft, a long with all his question marks, I don't think he'll go as early as some of you think.

 

[vince56]

Rudolph in the second and Falk in the 3rd are great value picks

Mason Rudolph is going to go earlier than most people think. Dude has an absolute cannon for an arm.

 

[overseascardfan]

I get the feeling that I'm the only one not enamored of Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold. They get the love, they get the hype, but I'm hoping they're gone by the time the Cardinals pick.

I wouldn't pay a king's ransom worth of picks to move up to take either. If they don't pan out you set yourself back years because of the multiple first round picks you give up...way too risky IMO.

 

[Garthshort]

Rugby, great job. Your list is probably as good as anyone's (teams included). I'm pretty sure that we'll go QB in either the first or second round, unless we sign Cousins or Foles, so I hope we don't trade away draft picks. Just a little over two months to the Draft.

 

[GimmedaBall]

I just don't like this argument. Only one of these were top ten picks. Most of them were taken in the 20s.

The counter to your argument is: Would you have rather traded up in 2010 to get Sam Bradford, or have had the opportunity to draft Patrick Peterson the next year?

I posed a question as to whether or not one would trade any (or all) of the last five #1 picks by the Cards to move up to take a favorite QB in the draft. The reason I listed 5 is to come up with the minimum points in a draft value chart. Because Cards have drafted in the lower end of the drafts based on their average or slightly higher finish, it would take several draft picks to jump into the top of the draft.

The basis of the question was the mediocre results that SK has been getting with his 1st round picks. If his success rate with 1st rounders continues as it has, why not trade a basketful of picks---SK is not hitting many homeruns with those picks anyway. It is not my first instinct to trade picks but it is something that Cards may have to do.

As to trading for Sam Bradford back in 2010---Bradford came into the draft with injury issues to his shoulder---and the injuries have kept adding up during his career. He went to the Rams and QB-killer HC Fisher and an annual change of OC. Bradford still has the arm---see his work with the Vikes in 2016---but is made of china---see his lack of time healthy in 2017.

Given that the Cards were coming off Warner's retirement in 2009, we went into 2010 with Derek Anderson, Max Hall, and John Skelton. Our big QB trade that year was for Skelton: Apr 24, 2010: Cardinals traded Bryant McFadden and 2010 6th round pick (195th overall, Antonio Brown) to Steelers for 2010 5th round pick (155th overall, John Skelton).

The issue is the QB situation and how to solve it. Given the disaster that followed for the Cards by Whiz-Graves not being able to solve the QB-puzzle---would you have traded for Bradford to avoid the Anderson-Hall-Skelton fiasco? Yes, it would have cost us Peterson the next year plus a whole basketful of other picks. . . but that is the price of business when it comes to finding a QB.

It also disingenuous to make a call based on hindsight into what happened after draft calls and trades were made. We are all super GM when we have the luxury of looking back. So, a trade for Bradford back when that was on the board would have been a definite possibility . . . the same way we have to now look at the upcoming draft and how much the Cards should put down before rolling the dice.