Voice of The Cardinals

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comAlright, after all the mock drafts and all the speculation, the 2008 NFL Draft is finally over. Now it’s time to analyze what the Cardinals did…

Arizona Cardinal Draft Grade: B+

Let me explain why I give the Cardinals this grade. Arizona needed to fill needs at cornerback, defensive end, offensive line, running back, and wide receiver. They filled all those needs during the two days of the draft, so that’s one plus right there. But not only did Arizona fill their needs, they did it while taking the best player on the board with each pick. I’m a guy who loves when teams take the best player available, so that made me excited to see them not drafting just for need. I know some of you including myself may wonder a little bit about some of the decisions made, but I actually trust the Cardinals with most of these picks.

It was a very tough decision when it came down to Rashard Mendenhall and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the first round. I felt it was a can’t lose situation and was glad I wasn’t the guy making the pick. I think Mendenhall is going to be a great player, but I’ve been on the Cromartie bandwagon for a while now and I’ve felt he would be the best player for the Cardinals. So while some of you are wishing we had Mendenhall, I think you should look at the great upside and talent DRC adds to the Cardinals defense.

In the second round I think a lot of Cardinal fans were expecting a running back here since Arizona passed on one in the first round. Well Whisenhunt and Graves stuck to their board and took the best player available in 6′8 295lb DE, Calais Campbell. I do believe Campbell was the best player at this spot, many scouts thought he was going in the first round but he slid all the way to the Cardinals in the second and I think it was an easy pick for Arizona to make. The Cards needed a DE and got one in a big way(pun intended). This looks like a real steal in the second round.

By now everyone assumed the pick here in the 3rd round had to be an offensive linemen or running back. Well the Cardinals surprised a lot of people by once again taking the best player available in LSU WR, Early Doucet. Doucet was another guy that many originally had going in the first round, but because of his average 40 time he slipped all the way to the middle of the 3rd. It blows my mind that Early went this late in the draft. He’s a very similar player to Anquan Boldin, and anyone similar to Boldin I want on my team. I know a lot of fans including myself wanted to see DE Cliff Avril drafted here. That would have been nice but I can’t complain with Arizona taking the best player and improving the depth at wide receiver. Doucet really is a stud and I’m happy he’s a Cardinal.

The 4th round pick was a bit of a surprise. The Cardinals took 6′4″, 275lb DE from Iowa, Kenny Iwebema. Kenny was not rated high on most peoples boards but defensive line coach Ron Aiken has worked with Kenny back when he was a coach at Iowa. So hopefully the inside information on this pick pays off. Myself and many others were hoping for an OT or RB with this pick but I think we have to trust the Cardinals and hope they know what they’re doing. With a little work, it seems like Kenny could be a very solid player.

The 5th round pick was not a surprise because the Cardinals finally drafted a running back, but it was a surprise because of who they drafted. Arizona took RB from AA Richmond, Timothy Hightower. At first this pick seemed a little weird because all the talk was that Arizona wanted a speed back and Hightower is more of a bruiser. But after reading up and looking at more film on Tim, I started to like this pick. Hightower has good, in game speed and great hands for a big RB. He should be a very nice special teams guy and a good short down back. He’s not a blazing fast RB like Chris Johnson but I think I might like this guy.

The 6th round pick was surprising to me because the Cardinals selected another DE in 6′5″ 275lb Chris Harrington. Chris was second team All-Big 12 at Texas A&M in 2007 which is always a plus. From what I’ve seen Harrington is a tough dude with a good nose for the ball. I expect the Cardinals to look at Chris as more of a 3-4 OLB. I’d say this was another good pick from what I’ve seen.

In the 7th round the Cardinals realized they needed an offensive linemen and filled that need by picking the very large Brandon Keith. Keith is a 6′5″345lb OT from Northern Iowa. Brandon is of course very strong and very fast for his size, running just over 5 seconds in the 40 during his pro day. His technique needs a little work but that can be fixed by Russ Grimm. Keith will add much needed depth to the Cardinals offensive line. I really like this pick.

I can’t really complain about much, we’ll see over time how these picks turn out, but for the moment I’m feeling pretty good about everything. I think the Cardinals coaches can turn some of these guys into very good football players.