Post your impressions fo each pick.

[PACardsFan]

First, the obligatory "We won't know for three years" disclaimer.

Second - my own personal "the draft is all about probabilities and not definites" disclaimer.

Having said that - I think we can evaluate any draft based on what we set out to do and what we accomplished.

Our objectives going in (at least as I saw them) were (1) become more stable and possibly add a playmaking dimension at CB, (2) bring in a high profile RB with home run ability to spell, compliment and eventually replace Edge, (c) add to our depth, toughness and run blocking on the O-line, (d) strengthen our depth further at safety (Rolle notwithstanding), (e) add to our depth at our front seven play-making pass rush positions (DE and OLB), (f) add a NT for "Watson insurance" and find a "slash" QB for the PS and (g) replace BJ with a "Z" receiver who can come out of the slot - & if the guy's a burner, all the better.

Over all - We added our playmaking CB and got a lot of depth at the Front Seven perimeter positions but didn't bring in a home run hitting RB, add depth at safety, pick up a NT, draft a slash QB but at least attempted to strengthen our O-line down the road. We got our slot receiver, but he's more like Boldin and less like Joey Galloway speed-wise.

Based on this, I'd give us a C+ going on a B-.

Regarding specific players:

1)Cromartie: A+
Of all the players in the entire draft, this is the one I wanted most. In addition to his measurables, I like his playmaking capability - the way he breaks on the ball and can leap high to make the pick. I saw him do it on tape, I saw him do it at Senior Bowl practice and I saw him do it against top competition in the Senior Bowl game.

2)Campbell: B+
I felt we needed more of a Freenie capability at DE/OLB, but the Cards opted to add a big guy with vines for arms who can anchor the LDE position in a 3-4 or, at 285 lbs play inside in a 4-3. Didn't fill a precise need, but was a "best player available" type pick. On that basis, I'd go with a B+

3)Doucet: B+
Our good slot guy - Boldin mentality. Not a blazer.

4)Iwebema: C
Questionable pick - He has all the tools, but is considered an underachiever and therefore somewhat of a risk. With Campbell drafted, this wasn't a need pick. Question must be - all things considered, was he really a "best available athlete" pick? This is one of those instances where the final grade should be withheld until we determine whether Aiken can turn him into a productive player.

5)Hightower: C
Another questionable pick. Is he truly a "hidden gem" with legendary skills that no one else knew about? Will his work ethic turn him into a RB who can successfully challenge Shipp and Baylark? Or will he turn out to be an overachieving journeyman? Whatever the case, he doesn't represent the answer to our need for a "home run hitting RB."

6)Harrington: C
(I'm not rating anyone a D or lower until I have the opportunity to see him line up in real time on a real pro team). That said - He's the third DE drafted without anything truly special to write home about. He can stop the run and works hard but isn't considered much of a pass rusher. Maybe he can challenge for a rotation job. Didn't fill a need. It's hard to imagine him being the best athlete available to us.

7)Keith: A
He gets the "A" because it was a great pick for the position. He's an awesome physical specimen (345 lbs and runs a 4.89). If Russ Grimm can coach him up and light a fire under him, we'll have our road grading RT of the future (with Levi moving over to the left side). We need to start building some talented depth behind our starting tackles. If he bombs, we will have only blown a #225. Great pick for the spot.

In the case of Cromartie, Campbell and Doucet, they should have a much shorter time window with which to earn their grade (i.e. their first year). But it may take 2 or 3 years to know what we really got in Iwebema, Hightower, Harrington and Keith.

When evaluating a draft, you need to create grades based on value for that slot. With that in mind, I love the draft the Cardinals had. Lombardi had the Cardinals as his winner & the Saints as his loser.

1. Cromartie - (A) Freakish athletic ability. Has the potential to be BETTER than A. Williams was. Great recovery skills & outstanding hands. Will be a ball-hawking stud.

2. Campbell - (A+) Could be the steal of the draft. Highest rated D linemen coming into this season, but fell prey to the malaise at Miami. Another guy with freak potential. 1st round value taken in the middle of the 2nd round.

3. Doucet - (A) All-around outstanding WR. Great package of skills: great hands, very good route runner, tremendous team guy & leader, stud blocker. Another 1st round talent, this time taken in the middle of the 3rd.

4. Iwebema - (B) There's no way that Aiken goes out on a limb for this guy, unless the upside just can't be ignored. This guy will either be an A+ or a C guy. I have no problem taking that chance on a guy in the 4th round. Another guy who has great tools & needs to STAY motivated & healthy.

5. Hightower - (A) Great, great value for a 5th rounder. Small school dynamo that hits the hole EXACTLY the way Grimm wants his runners to. He will fit nicely into the blocking schemes that Grimm teaches. He will score 6-8 times this year as he has an insatiable nose for the endzone.

6. Harrington - (B) Again, I love the value we got for a 6th rounder. This guy has a great motor & hits a ton. One of the top D linemen in the Big 12. Great mobility will allow him to move to backer. This guy is big-time underrated.

7. Keith - (B) I know very little about this guy, but I love his nasty disposition. If he applies himself, he has the potential to
give the Cardinals 4th or 5th round value to this pick.

Overall, I give the Cardinals either a B+ or an A for this draft. The Cardinals have the potential to be an explosive team next year on both sides of the ball. I've been following this team since the 60's & they flash MORE potential than the Cardinals of the Coryell era.

 

[Russ Smith]

I think the first 2 picks are boom or bust types DRC is a fabulous athlete but he looks pretty raw and I'm quite concerned about his ability to come up and make tackles but I guess at CB that's not what you worry about the most.

Campbell is one of those looks like a Pro Bowler types who underachieved. The whole Miami team did so maybe he's not to blame, but I was surprised we passed on Groves to take Campbell but he is quite a bit bigger than Groves which for a 3-4 DE is important I guess.

Doucet I like he's a solid player I just wish he had more speed. We could have had a faster player like LaVelle Hawkins who ironically started his career at LSU, but I think Doucette is a better WR than Lavelle so I'm fine with the pick.

 

[40yearfan]

When evaluating a draft, you need to create grades based on value for that slot. With that in mind, I love the draft the Cardinals had. Lombardi had the Cardinals as his winner & the Saints as his loser.

1. Cromartie - (A) Freakish athletic ability. Has the potential to be BETTER than A. Williams was. Great recovery skills & outstanding hands. Will be a ball-hawking stud.

2. Campbell - (A+) Could be the steal of the draft. Highest rated D linemen coming into this season, but fell prey to the malaise at Miami. Another guy with freak potential. 1st round value taken in the middle of the 2nd round.

3. Doucet - (A) All-around outstanding WR. Great package of skills: great hands, very good route runner, tremendous team guy & leader, stud blocker. Another 1st round talent, this time taken in the middle of the 3rd.

4. Iwebema - (B) There's no way that Aiken goes out on a limb for this guy, unless the upside just can't be ignored. This guy will either be an A+ or a C guy. I have no problem taking that chance on a guy in the 4th round. Another guy who has great tools & needs to STAY motivated & healthy.

5. Hightower - (A) Great, great value for a 5th rounder. Small school dynamo that hits the hole EXACTLY the way Grimm wants his runners to. He will fit nicely into the blocking schemes that Grimm teaches. He will score 6-8 times this year as he has an insatiable nose for the endzone.

6. Harrington - (B) Again, I love the value we got for a 6th rounder. This guy has a great motor & hits a ton. One of the top D linemen in the Big 12. Great mobility will allow him to move to backer. This guy is big-time underrated.

7. Keith - (B) I know very little about this guy, but I love his nasty disposition. If he applies himself, he has the potential to
give the Cardinals 4th or 5th round value to this pick.

Overall, I give the Cardinals either a B+ or an A for this draft. The Cardinals have the potential to be an explosive team next year on both sides of the ball. I've been following this team since the 60's & they flash MORE potential than the Cardinals of the Coryell era.

Amazing. I was just thinking the same thing today. We have all the elements of that great offense and certainly have a lot more on the defensive side of the ball than that team had. This could be a teriffic year.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Let's just hope 3 years from now one of these guys is still with the team and is a productive contributor... It's all a crap-shoot...

I read that DRC has been working out with Darrel Green. That's a good thing. Also saw where Dion Sanders loves him and wants to work with him as well...
Daucet intrigues me... Not so much for what he himself can bring (which is a lot of what we already have in Fitz and Q), but I wonder if taking him means that Whiz is ok with Breaston being our speed guy?

 

[PoolBoy]

players i like alot
DRC
Campbell
Doucet
Hightower

don't know enough about but am excited
Iwebema
Keith

not sure about
Harrington

 

[Sandan]

It appears in Hightower they wanted a guy who can pound out yds inside.

Maybe a little like Jerome Betis ?

 

[PoolBoy]

omg i just saw harrington highlights. add him to the dont know enough about but excited. guy throws his body around and looks fast. ill take him

 

[Skkorpion]

I don't see it quite the same way as most of you.

Five of our seven players were undercoached. One of the others is changing positions, from DE to OLB. Only Doucet, in my opinion, received superior coaching and is relatively well practiced at his position.

This draft puts great pressure on our coaching staff to teach well and rapidly. We'll soon find out how good staff really is.

 

[conraddobler]

I don't see it quite the same way as most of you.

Five of our seven players were undercoached. One of the others is changing positions, from DE to OLB. Only Doucet, in my opinion, received superior coaching and is relatively well practiced at his position.

This draft puts great pressure on our coaching staff to teach well and rapidly. We'll soon find out how good staff really is.

The best one since I've been alive, but that's not saying much now is it.

Seriously I'm excited about the team, it's incrementally acruing talent faster than the rest of the NFL with solid coaching that spells playoffs.

 

[Camshaft]

Bad draft

After the first round, none of the selections have speed for their position. Didn't the NYG superbowl win teach this management anything.

Cromartie - A
Campbell - C has college skills, no speed, we passed on better players.
Early - B projected to go earlier, good receiver.
Iwebema - F We could have waited 'til the 6th round for this dog and be graded a C. slow
Hightower- F Our first dip into the udfa pool.
Harrington - F Our second dip into the udfa pool.
Keith - C It would have been a B but people like Moffit were still available.

Overall - a very slow D+.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Cromartie-A, he'll likely start out at Rolle's role( ) last year. If he starts making plays right away then he's going to be a superstar. Probably the best athlete in the draft. Plus, with todays big WR's, he can match up size-wise with them. It will be fun to watch him and Fitz go at in camp. I say he gives Fitz all he wants.

Campbell- B+, he would have been a sure 1st rounder had he not run a slow 40. I don't know why 40's matter that much to DE's but it dropped him.In games he looks fine but the reports from his workouts were not that glowing. I tend to go more by game play than workouts.

Doucet- B+,i'm coming around on this pick. The Cards assessment was right on. THey would have preferred a "stretch the field " type WR but he was to good of a talent to pass on. I like him better than Urban,Morey, or whoever else was in the running for th 3rd WR so he definitely fills a valuable need.

Iwebema- C-,i don't like the pick mainly because,i think, the only reason we took him was because his old coach is on the staff and not based on his production. He did play well under Aiken and that's why i gave him a C-. There's a chance he plays above his college performance. Size and athletic ability-wise he looks the part.

Hightower- C-,it's hard to grade him because nobody has ever seen him play. He sounds alot like Shipp who was an UDFA. Size/speed-wise he sounds alot like Brandon Jacobs. If he turns out to play like him then you have the steal of the draft.

Harrington- C, i would grade him lower but you don't know how he'll transition to OLB. One thing Mayock said was that in the later rounds you're more looking for guys that fit into your system. Maybe that's what the Cards saw in Harrington.

Keith- B-,anytime you can get a big, athletic, OL in round 7 it's worth the gamble.I wonder if the Cards ever talked to him because i have a hard time thinking Grimm and Whiz would take a guy who quit twice before. We don't know all the circumstances but that's disconcerting.

Overall grade: B

 

[JeffGollin]

DRC, Calais & Keith

One common characteristic of DRC, Campbell and Keith is that they're each freaks of nature -

- DRC's size/speed/athleticism set him apart.

- Campbell's 6-8 frame and vine-like arms make him unique (If he can use those arms to block passing name, I'd like to nickname him: "Batman").

- Keith's 6-5 345 pound frame coupled with 4.98 speed is pretty dominating.

Of course, all of this is physical - it will be up to them to master the techniques, keep their motor levels high and their heads in the game.

But if they do, each of these guys has qualities you can't teach.

Note - The other three guys seem to fit specific roles to fill (i.e. between the tackles RB, strong side DE, DE/OLB combo man etc.) but don't appear to have physically dominating qualities - just solid within the physical specs for their jobs.

 

[Russ Smith]

- Campbell's 6-8 frame and vine-like arms make him unique (If he can use those arms to block passing name, I'd like to nickname him: "Batman").

.

The interesting thing is my experience is very few really tall DE's pan out there seems to be a ceiling where above a certain height it's very rare for a DE to excel. Mario Williams at 6'7" 290 is about the closest NFL DE to Calais Campbell and remember early in his career a lot of people thought he was a bust and one of the reasons given was he's too tall he plays too high.

We'll see on Campbell they said on ESPN he got too big his last year and if he drops back to 275 he'll be much better.

 

[justAndy]

My impression - Cards drafted 7 college guys. You never know who is going to make a good pro - remember all the Heisman winners that flamed out in the men's league?
A lot of these kids haven't even finished growing yet.

 

[football karma]

Without going pick by pick--- because who really knows:

The good:

Love the fact the Cards added a fast corner to the mix and a couple young DEs to the dline rotation. I also really like the fact that it looks like they added a savvy, productive slot guy to the WR mix.

The bad: If Edge goes down, the team could be in real trouble. I would have like to have added a young OT prospect to the mix prior to the seventh round.