All you had to do was listen to the various commentators evaluating each pick. Virtually every Cardinal choice had an evaluator stating this guy was one of my top picks with one finally saying the Cards are “crushing” it. If you’re reading some expert who doesn’t give this draft an “A” so far, just stop reading. BTW while we didn’t always agree at the point the Cards selected them I had, starting from the top, Harrison, Robinson, Benson, Reiman and Jones on my list. I’ll take 5 out of 7 every year.
The main things these guys mostly have in common is they have great athleticism, especially speed. Focusing on Day 2, these new Cards figure to be in AZ for a long time. One of the guys I didn’t know was Adams. It’s easy to overlook second level linemen unless you’re looking specifically at them. I ask around and the consensus is he’ll compete at LG, not RT. The other guy I didn’t have on my list was Melton. He blew up at the Combine. I’m not typically crazy about press corners, but he showed the athleticism to be much more. I don’t see the Cards using him to press much, so it figures year one will involve some conversion struggles. I think he’ll make the transition yet still be able to press if the situation calls for it. I think he’s better than McKinstry long term. Melton’s much faster. Also his game is totally different from Dejean, who is more a captain of the secondary. I think Dejean will have a great career, but Melton is a better pure CB. He’s the better fit. This guy is also a decent ballhawk, which the Cards desperately need. I’m sure Ossenfort was confident he could get this guy if he moved down by trading.
I had Benson as my top guy at 66 and so did the Cards. The Cards needed a breakaway running threat and get that with this guy. Benson, though, is much more. He has surprising power and consistently breaks arm tackles. He’s a solid receiver and figures to be the third down back. His secondary acceleration is stunning. Importantly he does a decent job of picking up rushers to protect his QB. This guy literally does it all. I had him as the top all-around RB in the draft. He immediately makes this offense far more dangerous, especially on third down.
Ossenfort is my kind of guy. He goes BPA at key areas of need. He shows patience and self-confidence that he sees more than other evaluators see, so he can move down and grab picks. However, when he wants someone badly, he’s not afraid to take them early. I had Tip Reiman in my 138 pick group. This guy is a hidden gem. Think of him as a more athletic version of Maxx Williams. He was widely regarded as the best blocking TE in college. Add in the fact he has decent hands and is a load to bring down once he gets the ball. The Illini simply didn’t use the TE in their offense. He a perfect compliment to McBride. He should start immediately when they use 2 TEs. He doesn’t have a huge catch radius, so Murray will have to be precise in his throws to get the most out of him. If the defense ignores Reiman, he’ll burn them. You’ll enjoy watching him make big time blocks on defenders.
Another guy I had in my 138 group was Elijah Jones. The Cards like to play zone in many passing situations, so he’s a fit. One of my big issues with zone is defenders often don’t react quickly enough to close down their zone. The best word to describe his style is sudden. His reaction burst time is outstanding. He had 5 ints last season, so you know he has ball skills. I know many on the board were worried as the Cards passed on some decent CBs, but I think they did fine. It will probably take half the season but when the Cards figure how to mesh their new guys with Garrett Williams, I think they will have a solid unit, far more capable of taking the ball away from their opponents than last season’s group. They need polish and will have to learn their roles and to trust each other, but Ossenfort did a solid job of building this unit.
All this and the Cards have 5 picks left to find some role players. I think Ossenfort has all ready answered all the questions about his competence. I know someone will say I just like this because they picked a bunch of my guys. Just watch a replay of the draft and listen to what they say about these picks. The Cards are a significantly better team than they were when the draft started. It may take a little developmental time, but the future is bright.
