Arizona Cardinals Draft Recap With Draftek’s Cardinals Analyst

Eugene Stasak is one of drafteks Big Board experts and their Arizona Cardinals draft analyst. He took some time out of his schedule to answer some questinons I posed to him:

1). After the Draft, what are the Cardinals needs?

 Quarterback is still the primary need for this team. At the end of the day, they improved a lot of key positions and filled some needs, but unless they get one of the top veterans available, they will still be stuck in mediocrity (at best). Offensive line still has holes as well. Without addressing the position at all in the draft, they will need to, at least, find one starter in free agency to replace the retiring Alan Faneca. In addition, they could use upgrades at LT and RG.

 
2). If you had to put money on it. Who’s the starting Quarterback week 1 of the upcoming season (assuming of course there is a season)?
 Kevin Kolb. All signs point to the Cardinals going all in on trying to acquire him once the lockout is lifted. If they don’t get him, Bulger makes sense but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them start John Skelton either.

 
3). Was Taking Patrick Peterson the right call at #5 overall?
 Personally, I’m torn on this one. If they Cardinals get Kevin Kolb, I think that PP was definitely the right choice. If they don’t get Kolb, I think that it was definitely the wrong choice.
 
4). So far as Whisenhunt and the front office with him shown any core draft philosophies that we should keep in mind when mocking the Cardinals next year?
 One thing that seems to be consistent is that in the mid-late rounds, the Cardinals always seem to draft players that the ‘couch scout’ will call a great value pick. This year was no different with Sam Acho and Quan Sturdivant both fitting that profile.
 
5). How do fans in general feel about the Cardinals draft
Most fans I’ve talked to feel pretty good overall about this draft. They got three guys that are instant starters in PP, Ryan Williams, and Anthony Sherman as well as two other guys that should, at least, push for significant playing time in Rob Housler and Acho. Sturdivant should be a factor on special teams and Carter and Sampson are both developmental guys at positions that the Cardinals have done pretty well in recent history at developing players into contributors.
 
6). What was the best pick (Excluding the first round)

I would say the best pick was Acho. I felt he was great value in the fourth round and he has the skillset that is perfect for the Dick LeBeau (Ray Horton) zone-blitz scheme. With Joey Porter and Clark Haggans both over the hill, Acho should push for a starting position as a rookie.
 
7). What about the most questionable?
I would probably have to go with Ryan Williams here. I knew the staff was down on Beanie Wells in general but I felt this RB class was extremely deep so I felt that selecting Williams so early was both a bit of a reach and not much of an upgrade to the current stable of backs. Williams has a similar skillset to Beanie and he can be everything they expected Beanie to be but I felt there were bigger needs and better value at that spot. Personally, I was expecting them to take Brooks Reed there, a player that I felt would have filled a bigger need and had better value.
 
8).  What UDFA’s could intrigue the Cardinals and would make sense for them to add?
 When I look at UDFA’s, I think of guys that can contribute on special teams and add some developmental depth at positions where age might be starting to set in a bit on my team. For the Cardinals, offensive line and safety are the two main positions where there are some potential roster spots up for grabs. A few names that I feel would be good fits are safeties Jeron Johnson of Boise State, and Brian Lainhart of Kent State as well as offensive linemen Zach Hurd of Connecticut, Jake Kirkpatrick of TCU, and Byron Bell of New Mexico.
 
9). With the roster as constructed right now what’s a ball park of number of wins for the team next year?
 With the QB situation as currently constructed, you have to believe that John Skelton would be the starter. He showed pretty well down the stretch last season for a rookie fifth round pick but it’s tough to predict many more than 6 wins from this team with him under center.  
 
10). Rank the drafts in the division from best to worst.
I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the drafts but I’d rank them this way:
1.           St. Louis Rams
2.           Arizona Cardinals
3.           San Francisco 49ers
4.           Seattle Seahawks

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