Cards Draft Preview:

Derek Diesner

New Member
7

The NFL Draft is set to begin this Thursday evening and the Arizona Cardinals are on the clock with the first overall pick. Arizona has 10 picks overall in this draft, after finishing the 2018 season at 3-13 overall. As of this writing, the Cardinals could add a few more picks between now and the official opening of the draft if any of the trade rumors are true.

The Cardinals have multiple needs to be filled on their roster before beginning training camp later this summer. Arizona has been busy this offseason with over $60 million dollars available in salary cap space. While the Cards have been able to check off a lot of boxes on the “Need” list, they still have many more positions to fill.
The rumor around the NFL since the Cardinals hired head coach Kliff Kingsbury back on January 8th, is that Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray is coming to the desert. If you tune into any sports segment on local TV or listen to Arizona sports talk on the radio; you will be inundated with information and other juicy thoughts of reuniting Kingsbury with Kyler Murray. The issue with this, is that the Cardinals moved up in last year’s draft to select former UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen. Now while Rosen struggled in his rookie campaign, he also received no favors from his offensive line or fellow offensive players. Injuries and lack of experience under first year head coach Steve Wilkes doomed Arizona. Following the season, owner Michael Bidwell and general manger Steve Keim admitted to their mistake and relieve coach Wilkes of his duties. Following an extensive search, the Cardinals brass brought in a fresh young coach, who had no experience on an NFL sideline; besides holding a clipboard as a career back-up QB in the NFL.

Delving into The Rumor Mill
Hit the rewind button for a quick second if you will. Prior to Kingsbury’s departure last season from Texas Tech University, he stated that if he was with the team who controlled the number one pick in this year’s NFL Draft, he would take Kyler Murray. Fast forward now about six months and look who controls that first overall pick. Kingsbury is set to bring his air-aide attack to the NFL and try his best to match wits with his protégé; Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams. Both are considered the future of the NFL, as is Cincinnati Bengals newly hired head coach Zac Taylor and Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
Most prognosticators believe that for Kingsbury’s system to work, he needs an agile and mobile quarterback. Most are saying that Josh Rosen can not fill this role; however, has he been given a fair shake? If you pay close attention to the few interactions that Rosen and Kingsbury have had in their short time together, you may believe that they can. While Rosen may not have the arm strength or superb wheels that Kyler Murray does, Rosen still brings a lot to the table. Enough so, that the Cardinals moved up last year to pick Rosen and tab him as the “Chosen One.”

Repeat of Last Season
Last year’s draft brought a surprise, as the Cleveland Browns shocked the world late and selected Baker Mayfield; another former Oklahoma quarterback. The Browns were projected to be weighing their options between two quarterbacks; neither of which were Mayfield. Will we have a similar situation this year? The Cardinals are making everyone play the guessing game at this moment in time and only Arizona knows what they will do. Deals are rumored to be on the table; but what if Arizona stays in the position, they are in. Will they take Murray? Or will they draft some defensive help? The Cardinals were an organization that prided themselves on their defense in the last decade plus. The biggest question heading into this draft is, do they return to their defensive roots? Or will they turn the keys over to the offensive mastermind Kliff Kingsbury and let him build the team that he wants and needs? So far in press conferences, we have heard that Steve Keim is the one building the coaching staff and roster. Kingsbury is in charge coaching those players and getting them prepared week in and week out.

Predictions
Heading into this draft it is anyone’s guess as to which direction the Cardinals will go. The way things have felt leading up to this draft, I feel like I am re-watching the 2014 film starring Kevin Costner; Draft Day. The day before the draft we are hearing about character issues with Kyler Murray and comparisons of Kyler’s father to that of LaVar Ball and how he is with his sons. Kyler missed out on a charity function the day before the draft and is starting to have slights made at the type of person he is off the field.

If I had to make my prediction, after hearing months of talk about Kyler Murray coming to the desert, I believe the Cardinals will trade the first pick. I believe Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is infatuated with Kyler Murray and I believe he will lead the Silver and Black into Vegas. The Cardinals will get the Raiders two first round picks (#4 and #27) and select defensive end Quinnen Williams to sure up the front line and then draft former Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry with pick 27; to form the Larry (Fitzgerald) and Harry duo. This trade will position the Cardinals to compete in the NFC West in the next two to three years. It will land them two top prospects, as well as set them up to grab another elite prospect to begin day two of the draft with the first pick (#33) in the second round. While Josh Rosen is not as athletic as Kyler Murray, Rosen has shown he is mature beyond his years by dealing with all these trade talks all offseason long. He has been a consummate professional and has proven in just this short time that he can be the leader that Arizona can lean on once Larry Fitzgerald decides to hang up his cleats. The off the field side is there for Rosen, now it is Kliff Kingsbury’s job to help Rosen to get to the next level on the field.
 

Derek Diesner

New Member
After Day 1, the Cardinals made the choice to move on from Josh Rosen and get the new toy that newly hired head coach Kliff Kingsbury wanted; Kyler Murray.

This Cardinal offense will look way different than any other we have seen in this history of this franchise.

The questions that linger now are:
1. Where and when do the Cards trade Josh Rosen and what can they get for him?
2. How do the Cardinals finish this draft?

The Cardinals still have two hands worth of picks left and they still need to shore up the lines on each side of the ball. The Cards are also looking to add more depth at the wide receiver position. One big blow for Arizona, was watching the Patriots close out the first round by selecting Arizona State product, N'Keal Harry. There are still a lot of good wideouts available, but you know the Cardinals wanted to keep Harry here in Arizona. Something similar to what they did last year, by bringing Christian Kirk back home to Arizona.

We will see what today has in store for us. As of this moment, the Cardinals are said to be in talks with the Miami Dolphins to acquire pick(s) for Josh Rosen.
 

howsoon99

New Member
5 Year Member
Sorry to say this, but I have no idea what the hell Keim is doing any more.

Made a bad hire with Wilks. I think Wilks is a heck of a coach, and a good one at that. I thought he was the wrong fit in Arizona for what they had at that time. It was just not going to work out.

So they get rid of him and then hire Kingsbury? He was fired from Texas Tech, and sure he can definitely work the QBs, but he gave us a good record of what he can do as a Head Coach. Bad hire, bad HC, bad fit. They already had Rosen, and you get a good coach that can come in here and work Rosen and get a good OL that is not the 2nd and 3rd stringers. No QB, no matter who it is, would thrive behind a 2nd/3rd string OL for the entire season.

So they draft Murray. Not that great, but I guess if we are going to let Kingsbury bury the Cruds even further, why not give him the QB he has wanted for 7 years. I do like the 2nd round pick, a good CB with speed and can tackle. That is a good pick, then we get back to the "WTH are you thinking".

Rosen, drafted at spot 10 in the 1st round a year ago, they could not get better than a low 2nd rounder for him?! And then they draft a very speedy receiver who is smaller than Murray, and has had hands issues. This is not the NFL Track and Field competition. This WR needs to catch the ball. And if this receiver is fast, great, but he needs to be able to catch the ball if it comes his way. Not drop every third throw.

I used to be a big supporter of Keim, but the last couple of years has made me wonder if he really knows what he is doing, or just got lucky at times. As of right now, if I had to estimate where the Cruds would be picking in the 2020 draft, I would say Top five picks right now, maybe even another #1 pick in 2020. Does not look great for this team for the 2019 season. I feel sorry for Fitz and Peterson. Dedicated to the team and they keep doing this?
 

Derek Diesner

New Member
I can honestly say I agree with you 100%! I have been a big supporter of Steve Keim, but lately I have really been questioning the decisions. One thing that has been thrown around a lot is that Keim knows he is on the hot seat. Therefore he knows a big splash needed to be made and a gamble needed to be taken. Hence why you hire Kliff and draft Kyler. The Cards are looking to reinvent the wheel and see if they can catch teams off guard with a new strategy. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. 2019 will be boom or bust for this organization. One thing to keep in mind is, that this experiment can't last one season like it did with Wilkes and Rosen. They have to stick with this path for 2-3 seasons.

Stay tuned, because I will have a breakdown of the draft and more on my thoughts about the Cards as they finished the draft and prepare for rookie mini-camp.
 

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