The Unlikeliest of Scenarios: Cardinals draft Matt Kalil-OT-USC

[Chopper0080]

Let us suspend reality for a moment and gaze into a future of what if using some common draft rumors floating around the internet...

1-Indianapolis-Andrew Luck-QB-Stanford
*as expected

2-Washington-Robert Griffin III-QB-Baylor
*as expected

3-Minnesota-Morris Claiborne-CB-LSU
*Rick Speilman, GM of the Vikings, has been stating that the importance of elite OTs in the NFL are dwindling and that the Vikings need to draft players to match up against their division rivals. Claiborne is a highly rated player and the Vikings do match up against Calvin Johnson, Greg Jennings and Brandon Marshall twice a year.

4-Cleveland-Ryan Tannehill-QB-Texas A&M
*I do not believe that Tannehill is worth this high of a pick, but more rumors are coming out that it will be a battle between Cleveland and Miami for the services of Ryan. I'm not sure Miami is willing to trade up for him, and I believe Cleveland has the picks to take Ryan here, and still upgrade at WR and RB.

5-Tampa Bay-Trent Richardson-RB-Alabama
*A highly rated player who fumbled once in his entire college career. Why does this matter, well the Tamp Bay head coach was recently quoted being very critical of LeGarrette Blount's ball security. Also, they just invested 9mil per year in a road grading OG.

6-St. Louis-Justin Blackmon-WR-Oklahoma St.
*This is probably the biggest stretch for me to justify, BUT most figured if the Rams had stayed at #2 they would have picked Blackmon because they are prioritizing adding weapons for Bradford. I am applying that same logic here, and am figuring the Rams take the top WR right here.

7-ARIZONA-Matt Kalil-OT-USC
*Jacksonville has this pick, but is on record saying they are willing to move back in the first round. They would love to add a WR, but this might be a bit high for Michael Floyd. They also have needs at DE and LB, but again, probably too high for Keuchly and Coples, Perry, and Upshaw all come with a bit of risk. Arizona trades Jacksonville, at best, their 2013 1st round pick and draft their future LT in Matt Kalil. Jacksonville acquires a future #1 which are becoming even more valuable with the decreased rookie contracts, and is still able to add the playmaking WR they need in Michael Floyd or Kendall Wright.

Dreaming is free.

 

[Chopper0080]

Would a mod please add the other T in Matt Kalil. Thanks.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

I like your imagination, however unlikely it may be. Just for reference purposes, when is the last time the Cards traded into the top 10?

 

[Buckybird]

Giving up the 2013 #1 to move up 6 spots to select Kalil...no thanks. It's a moot point anyway because IMO Kalil doesn't get past the Lambs.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Would a mod please add the other T in Matt Kalil. Thanks.

BIM

 

[kerouac9]

No way Jacksonville makes a deal that doesn't at least net them an extra pick in 2012. No chance.

 

[JeffGollin]

No way Jacksonville makes a deal that doesn't at least net them an extra pick in 2012. No chance.

I agree. But if Jax was willing to swap 1sts in exchange for next year's 1st, getting a franchise LT in exchange for our next year's 1st might be worth it.

 

[Stout]

Giving up the 2013 #1 to move up 6 spots to select Kalil...no thanks. It's a moot point anyway because IMO Kalil doesn't get past the Lambs.

Giving up the 2013 #1 to move up 6 spots to select Kalil...heck yes! In a heartbeat! He and DeCastro are the two most sure-fire OL prospects in this draft. On paper, he's a guy that you plug into the LT position and forget about for 10 years. He is the Joe Thomas of this draft, as opposed to Martin and a bunch of Levi Browns who will be available at 13.

 

[devilalum]

Giving up the 2013 #1 to move up 6 spots to select Kalil...heck yes! In a heartbeat! He and DeCastro are the two most sure-fire OL prospects in this draft. On paper, he's a guy that you plug into the LT position and forget about for 10 years. He is the Joe Thomas of this draft, as opposed to Martin and a bunch of Levi Browns who will be available at 13.

Everyone talks about AP, I've always wondered what this team could have done had they figured out how to trade up and draft Thomas instead of Brown. I know they wanted Thomas bad and settled for Levi.

 

[kerouac9]

Everyone talks about AP, I've always wondered what this team could have done had they figured out how to trade up and draft Thomas instead of Brown. I know they wanted Thomas bad and settled for Levi.

What is this based on? Russ Grimm ran Levi Brown's campus workout. Contemporary accounts of that draft said that the Cards preferred Brown over Joe Thomas.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

If you like that so much, then call up the Vikings and offer them our 13th, next years 1st conditioned on if it isn't in the top 13 then they get our 3rd round pick next year also.

 

[Chopper0080]

No way Jacksonville makes a deal that doesn't at least net them an extra pick in 2012. No chance.

That could be a very accurate statement, and possibly a deal breaker though I might be willing to part with our 4th rounder in this draft.

 

[Phrazbit]

Seeing the going rate for moving up in the 1st the last few years, I cant imagine it would be less than our 2012 1st, 2013 1st and (at minimum) our 2013 2nd round pick.

 

[bg7brd]

What is this based on? Russ Grimm ran Levi Brown's campus workout. Contemporary accounts of that draft said that the Cards preferred Brown over Joe Thomas.

No one on the planet thought Levi was better than Thomas. I think that was just a pre draft smoke screen.

 

[kerouac9]

No one on the planet thought Levi was better than Thomas. I think that was just a pre draft smoke screen.

It was a pre-draft smoke screen that Russ Grimm orchestrated Levi Brown's Pro Day?? Really? Or that it was reported after the draft that the Cards had Brown rated ahead of Joe Thomas?

That's some pretty deep chess that the Cards were playing. Were they hoping to fool the Browns into thinking that Levi was a superior player?

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

No one on the planet thought Levi was better than Thomas. I think that was just a pre draft smoke screen.

"Hi, my name is Russ Grimm, nice to meet you!"

 

[Bodha]

If Michael Floyd is there for us at 13, thatd be killer. MF + Larry would be the new Q + Larry.


But im still sold on trading back. Drop back 5-6 spots and hope MF or Keuch falls to us, and then take a LT in the 2nd.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Rick Spielman may be on to something. Look at last year's playoff teams and there's not what I'd call many franchise LT's:
NE- Light: adequate at best
GB- Clifton: old and injured
SF- Staley: good, not great
DEN- Clady: he can be considered a franchise LT
PIT- With all their injuries, I don't even know who played LT. Starks??? he was camp fodder.
DET- Backus: old and injured
NO- Bushrod: good but nothing special
NYG- Diehl: meh
BAL: McKinnie: was a camp pickup but he is pretty good when in shape.
HOU- Brown: he's pretty good.
ATL- Svitek: not really all that familiar with him.
CIN- Whitworth: good but nothing special

It's also weird that the 4 best LT's of the group, Clady, McKinnie, Brown, and Staley were on run oriented offenses, although Balt did pass alot more this year, and LT's are earn their worth in protecting the QB.

 

[Garthshort]

Very unlikely, but I guess it's possible.

 

[bg7brd]

It was a pre-draft smoke screen that Russ Grimm orchestrated Levi Brown's Pro Day?? Really? Or that it was reported after the draft that the Cards had Brown rated ahead of Joe Thomas?

That's some pretty deep chess that the Cards were playing. Were they hoping to fool the Browns into thinking that Levi was a superior player?

Sigh....Is it so odd for a team to claim the guy they picked was the one they wanted? They're not going to say " we really wanted Joe Thomas but now were stuck with Levi Brown". Who reported this anyway? There's not a doubt in my mind that the Cards would have taken Joe Thomas over Levi.

 

[kerouac9]

Sigh....Is it so odd for a team to claim the guy they picked was the one they wanted? They're not going to say " we really wanted Joe Thomas but now were stuck with Levi Brown". Who reported this anyway? There's not a doubt in my mind that the Cards would have taken Joe Thomas over Levi.

Both beat reporters, Urban and Somers, reported it at the time of the draft. Darren Urban was still with the EVT at the time.

There are lots of ways of complementing your incoming Top 5 draft pick without having to straight-up lie to your fans, which is what you're insisting the Cards did here for some reason. The Chargers clearly had Eli Manning ahead of Phillip Rivers on their draft board, but didn't to about trying to sell anyone that they actually liked Rivers more.

I'm glad that there's no doubt in your mind, but that goes against all the evidence from five years ago.

 

[HookemCards]

I worry about giving up that much for an OT, or any OL for that matter. Not because I don't think Kalil will be very good, but because I don't think he'll improve much with Grimm coaching him. How much improvement have we seen out of any of our linemen the last 5 years, including Grimm's hand picked Brown. The only way i'd be for it is if Grimm was fired in a year or two for not being able to coach Kalil up. I'm still trying to figure out everyone's (not this board obviously) insistance that Grimm is a good OL coach. He was a very good guard, on a line with lots of good talent on a run oriented team. Its no surprise to me that we've struggled mightily with OT talent.

 

[kerouac9]

Sigh....Is it so odd for a team to claim the guy they picked was the one they wanted? They're not going to say " we really wanted Joe Thomas but now were stuck with Levi Brown". Who reported this anyway? There's not a doubt in my mind that the Cards would have taken Joe Thomas over Levi.

And just to illustrate to you that this is true:

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0429NUcards0429.html

A bit of a surprise here, but in talking to some of the Arizona coaches they actually had Levi Brown rated ahead of Joe Thomas. Brown, the left tackle at Penns State - a lot of teams projecting him to the right side … that's a perfect fit for the Arizona Cardinals who have a left-handed quarterback in Matt Leinart, so he will be now be protecting Leinart's back side.

New offensive line coach Russ Grimm - he's had a tremendous coaching career working with young offensive linemen. I think Levi Brown, because of the athletic ability, because of the strength, you plug him in right there at that right tackle position, and all of a sudden this explosive Arizona Cardinals offense looks a lot better in 2007.

Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

 

[ARZCardinals]

I can see it happening...Cards WOULD offer next years 1st to get Matt..and the dreaded LT position is finally filled.

Dial it it...smile and have a good day.

 

[Chopper0080]

Rick Spielman may be on to something. Look at last year's playoff teams and there's not what I'd call many franchise LT's:
NE- Light: adequate at best
GB- Clifton: old and injured
SF- Staley: good, not great
DEN- Clady: he can be considered a franchise LT
PIT- With all their injuries, I don't even know who played LT. Starks??? he was camp fodder.
DET- Backus: old and injured
NO- Bushrod: good but nothing special
NYG- Diehl: meh
BAL: McKinnie: was a camp pickup but he is pretty good when in shape.
HOU- Brown: he's pretty good.
ATL- Svitek: not really all that familiar with him.
CIN- Whitworth: good but nothing special



It's also weird that the 4 best LT's of the group, Clady, McKinnie, Brown, and Staley were on run oriented offenses, although Balt did pass alot more this year, and LT's are earn their worth in protecting the QB.

I think Matt Kalil is a special player which is why I concocted this scenario, but it a main reason I am on board for David DeCastro over an OT at #13.