Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
I couldn't help but agree with Peter King who wrote in his outstanding Monday Morning QB column that he won't give out draft grades because it's kind of like "giving kids grades on the first day of school."
We all know that we will not be able to accurately assess this year's draft for another 4-5 years. However, what I am going to assess was the Cardinals' preparation and thinking process as they conducted this year's draft---and in consideration of those aspects, I give the Cardinals an A.
Here are the reasons why:
1. Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame. After drafting Patrick Peterson as a "difference maker" last year the Cardinals learned something very valuable---that in the first round you want to draft a player who even as a rookie can be a "difference maker." Floyd fits that bill. And the Cardinals did their homework on him---they interviewed him at the combine and they had him in for a pre-draft visit. There were plenty of questions about Floyd's off the field issues and the Cardinals were very up front with him. They came away from the interviews feeling convinced that Floyd has matured significantly over the past year, something that Brian Kelly his head coach at Notre Dame has emphatically supported.
The only other player who made sense at this pick was OLB Melvin Ingram---and as much as I drool over the immense talent this kid has, what made the evaluation of him so difficult is that he played all over the place at South Carolina---and actually he did most of his damage playing DT of all things, where he was unblockable. Projecting him to starting SOLB was a bit of a stretch---and with the Chargers we will see if he can make the transition. We already know he can rush the passer...but can he be a full-time OLB?
The other thing about Floyd versus Ingram is Floyd's consistency over the course of 4 years---Ingram's success at South Carolina was very recent. In fact, in looking at Phil Steele's college football pre-season position rankings---Ingram shows up as the #39 defensive tackle.
Michael Floyd was in Steele's top 4 WRs the past three years.
2. Jamell Fleming, CB, Oklahoma. I applaud this pick---it was the gutsiest of the draft for the Cardinals because you just know they wanted to take an offensive lineman or a pass rusher here---and yet they stayed true to their draft board and took the BPA. This kid is such a good fit---and now we know why the Cardinals decided they weren't going to pay Richard Marshall $6M a year---Fleming has the tools and the moxie to be a better pro---he's far more flexible and has much better ball skills than Marshall.
3. Bobbie Massey, T, Mississippi. Here is why patience is a virtue. Amazingly the perfect fit RT in this draft, more so than Reiff or the others, dropped right into their laps. This pick makes the Floyd and Fleming choices even more wise. Tremendous value at this spot.
4. Senio Kelemete, G, Washington. Again, the Cardinals are getting outstanding value in this player who is one of the more athletic offensive linemen in the draft, and had he played his natural position of guard at Washington, he might have been a 2nd round selection. He dropped a little because he projects inside---but there's no tape of him inside, so teams can only speculate. But---we have the BEST coach of guards in the NFL, hands down.
5. Justin Bethel, CB/S, Presyterian. This pick was sensational---for one is he is going to be a superb STs player as a gunner and yet another threat to block kicks from the edge. Secondly, having shown a knack for scouting players from small schools in the recent past in Hightower and Toler, here is a kid who is not just a fast athlete, he is a good tackler and ball hawk.
6. Ryan Lindley, QB, San Diego St. What impressed me so much about this pick was having watched the SDSU tapes from last year to see what we had in WR DeMarco Sampson, I came away thinking man this Lindley kid is good. Any time you have a QB who can feed two WRs for over 1,000 yards in a season as Lindley did with Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson, you have quite a prospect on your hands. And while some are scrutinizing his 53% completion percentage this past year---Lindley had no experience at all at WR to throw to---4 career catches among them going into the season. The fact that Lindley still put up good yards and a very positive TD/int ratio speaks a great deal about his talent. That and, Bill Polian and Ron Jaworski, two of the best film evaluators in the football world, like this kid a lot---this in itself says a great deal. BTW, so does Peter King who lauds the pick on his MMQB article today. Plus---better to draft a QB this year and get him into the system with all the questions surrounding Kevin Kolb. To get Lindley at this point in the draft---and a QB who had the strongest arm in the draft---is a major accomplishment.
7. Nate Potter, T, Boise St. Talk about value---and what this pick said to me is the Cardinals stayed true to their draft board with EVERY pick in this draft. I think ideally they would have liked to take a linebacker here---but with Potter sitting there, they took the BPA. Get this---people can say what they want about Potter not being strong enough---which I NEVER saw on tape and I saw almost every Boise St. game the past three years, with one of the smallest and most immobile QBs in college football, the Boise St. offensive line, led by Potter, gave up a paltry 0.67 sacks per game---best in college football. The fact too that Potter will now join fellow Boise St. alum Daryn Colledge---there will be some great bonding there.
In general, what I laud about the Cardinals' decision making is that:
A. They were incredibly patient. They must have been as anxious as we were or more, going though the 57 picks between the 13th and the 80th---but they stayed the course and still trusted their board.
B. NONE of the Cardinals' selections were a reach---in fact you could argue that ALL of the picks were steals. There were many mock drafts where all of the Cardinals' selections were taken earlier and were projected to go in some cases, MUCH earlier. This deserves an A in itself.
C. As Kent Somers so astutely points out in his blog today, the Cardinals took "veteran rookies"---I mean, look at the career games and starts these players had:
Floyd: 42 starts at Notre Dame.
Fleming: played in 51 games with 24 starts at Oklahoma. Two time Bowl MVP the past two years.
Massie: 37 games, 29 starts in 3 years (came out as a junior).
Kelemete: 41 starts---2 year captain.
Bethel: 43 starts
Lindley: 49 starts at QB
Potter: 42 starts---even started as a freshman at Boise St.
As hard as it is to feel real good as a Cardinal fan, as accustomed as we are to feeling skeptical and paranoid---I wish to say that about this draft we can feel especially good.
Sure---I wish we had taken a pass rusher---but I think the Cardinals know that the way the draft works they will have to take one in the first or early second round to get a real good one---and I bet that is the feature item on the menu for next year---and a full slate of picks (thanks to no panic moves) to work with.
This is an A draft. And, as my long-time coaching mentor, Miles Hubbard, always said, "it's OK...to get a little excited."
We all know that we will not be able to accurately assess this year's draft for another 4-5 years. However, what I am going to assess was the Cardinals' preparation and thinking process as they conducted this year's draft---and in consideration of those aspects, I give the Cardinals an A.
Here are the reasons why:
1. Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame. After drafting Patrick Peterson as a "difference maker" last year the Cardinals learned something very valuable---that in the first round you want to draft a player who even as a rookie can be a "difference maker." Floyd fits that bill. And the Cardinals did their homework on him---they interviewed him at the combine and they had him in for a pre-draft visit. There were plenty of questions about Floyd's off the field issues and the Cardinals were very up front with him. They came away from the interviews feeling convinced that Floyd has matured significantly over the past year, something that Brian Kelly his head coach at Notre Dame has emphatically supported.
The only other player who made sense at this pick was OLB Melvin Ingram---and as much as I drool over the immense talent this kid has, what made the evaluation of him so difficult is that he played all over the place at South Carolina---and actually he did most of his damage playing DT of all things, where he was unblockable. Projecting him to starting SOLB was a bit of a stretch---and with the Chargers we will see if he can make the transition. We already know he can rush the passer...but can he be a full-time OLB?
The other thing about Floyd versus Ingram is Floyd's consistency over the course of 4 years---Ingram's success at South Carolina was very recent. In fact, in looking at Phil Steele's college football pre-season position rankings---Ingram shows up as the #39 defensive tackle.
Michael Floyd was in Steele's top 4 WRs the past three years.
2. Jamell Fleming, CB, Oklahoma. I applaud this pick---it was the gutsiest of the draft for the Cardinals because you just know they wanted to take an offensive lineman or a pass rusher here---and yet they stayed true to their draft board and took the BPA. This kid is such a good fit---and now we know why the Cardinals decided they weren't going to pay Richard Marshall $6M a year---Fleming has the tools and the moxie to be a better pro---he's far more flexible and has much better ball skills than Marshall.
3. Bobbie Massey, T, Mississippi. Here is why patience is a virtue. Amazingly the perfect fit RT in this draft, more so than Reiff or the others, dropped right into their laps. This pick makes the Floyd and Fleming choices even more wise. Tremendous value at this spot.
4. Senio Kelemete, G, Washington. Again, the Cardinals are getting outstanding value in this player who is one of the more athletic offensive linemen in the draft, and had he played his natural position of guard at Washington, he might have been a 2nd round selection. He dropped a little because he projects inside---but there's no tape of him inside, so teams can only speculate. But---we have the BEST coach of guards in the NFL, hands down.
5. Justin Bethel, CB/S, Presyterian. This pick was sensational---for one is he is going to be a superb STs player as a gunner and yet another threat to block kicks from the edge. Secondly, having shown a knack for scouting players from small schools in the recent past in Hightower and Toler, here is a kid who is not just a fast athlete, he is a good tackler and ball hawk.
6. Ryan Lindley, QB, San Diego St. What impressed me so much about this pick was having watched the SDSU tapes from last year to see what we had in WR DeMarco Sampson, I came away thinking man this Lindley kid is good. Any time you have a QB who can feed two WRs for over 1,000 yards in a season as Lindley did with Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson, you have quite a prospect on your hands. And while some are scrutinizing his 53% completion percentage this past year---Lindley had no experience at all at WR to throw to---4 career catches among them going into the season. The fact that Lindley still put up good yards and a very positive TD/int ratio speaks a great deal about his talent. That and, Bill Polian and Ron Jaworski, two of the best film evaluators in the football world, like this kid a lot---this in itself says a great deal. BTW, so does Peter King who lauds the pick on his MMQB article today. Plus---better to draft a QB this year and get him into the system with all the questions surrounding Kevin Kolb. To get Lindley at this point in the draft---and a QB who had the strongest arm in the draft---is a major accomplishment.
7. Nate Potter, T, Boise St. Talk about value---and what this pick said to me is the Cardinals stayed true to their draft board with EVERY pick in this draft. I think ideally they would have liked to take a linebacker here---but with Potter sitting there, they took the BPA. Get this---people can say what they want about Potter not being strong enough---which I NEVER saw on tape and I saw almost every Boise St. game the past three years, with one of the smallest and most immobile QBs in college football, the Boise St. offensive line, led by Potter, gave up a paltry 0.67 sacks per game---best in college football. The fact too that Potter will now join fellow Boise St. alum Daryn Colledge---there will be some great bonding there.
In general, what I laud about the Cardinals' decision making is that:
A. They were incredibly patient. They must have been as anxious as we were or more, going though the 57 picks between the 13th and the 80th---but they stayed the course and still trusted their board.
B. NONE of the Cardinals' selections were a reach---in fact you could argue that ALL of the picks were steals. There were many mock drafts where all of the Cardinals' selections were taken earlier and were projected to go in some cases, MUCH earlier. This deserves an A in itself.
C. As Kent Somers so astutely points out in his blog today, the Cardinals took "veteran rookies"---I mean, look at the career games and starts these players had:
Floyd: 42 starts at Notre Dame.
Fleming: played in 51 games with 24 starts at Oklahoma. Two time Bowl MVP the past two years.
Massie: 37 games, 29 starts in 3 years (came out as a junior).
Kelemete: 41 starts---2 year captain.
Bethel: 43 starts
Lindley: 49 starts at QB
Potter: 42 starts---even started as a freshman at Boise St.
As hard as it is to feel real good as a Cardinal fan, as accustomed as we are to feeling skeptical and paranoid---I wish to say that about this draft we can feel especially good.
Sure---I wish we had taken a pass rusher---but I think the Cardinals know that the way the draft works they will have to take one in the first or early second round to get a real good one---and I bet that is the feature item on the menu for next year---and a full slate of picks (thanks to no panic moves) to work with.
This is an A draft. And, as my long-time coaching mentor, Miles Hubbard, always said, "it's OK...to get a little excited."
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