Arizona Cardinals 2008 NFL Draft Needs

April 19, 2008

The Arizona Cardinals were expected to be a much better team in 2007, but could never really get things going for a long period of time and wound up finishing the season at 8-8. The spent much of the second half of the season without Matt Leinart, but didn’t have to bad of backup in Kurt Warner. While Warner was solid in 2007, they need Leinart to be the guy many people believe he can be. The team’s biggest offseason move came in the signing of DE Travis LaBoy. On the other side of things their biggest loss came on the defensive side of things when they lost OLB Calvin Pace in free agency to the Jets.The team still has many needs to fill before the season gets underway, and will get their first shot at doing so when they pick at #16 in the first round of this year’s draft. Here is a look at the top 5 positions the Cardinals need to be looking at when they are up in this year’s draft.

1. Cornerback

The Offense was pretty good last season, but that doesn’t matter when you can’t stop the other team. The Cardinals currently have Eric Green and Roderick Hood holding down the two corner spots, but neither one is a big time playmaker. There should be plenty of potential playmakers when the Cardinals are up in the first round and they could wind up landing a guy like TSU’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie or South Florida’s Mike Jenkins.

2. Running Back

Though Edgerrin James had a pretty solid season rushing for 1200 yards and 7 touchdowns, he doesn’t have to many years left. Backup Marcel Shipp was non-existent and recent pick of J.J. Arrington doesn’t seem to be working out to well. The team could land a big time running back in Illinois’s Rashard Mendenhall if he is still on the board.

3. Linebacker

The outside linebacker plays a big role in the defense as the team runs a hybrid 3-4/4-3. With the loss of Pace the team is really looking thin at this position. We see them taking a shot one someone during the draft its just a matter of when they decide to. With USC’s Keith Rivers most likely off the board before they pick, they could wait and take a guy like Georgia’s Marcus Howard.

4. Safety

The team is going to try and move Antrel Rolle from starting corner to starting free safety. While this might end up being a great move, it could end up completely back firing. This means that the needs to get someone who can step if it doesn’t work. If they decide to change back before the draft they could take a shot at Miami’s Kenny Phillips early on.

5. Punter

This is a rare time that a special teams position is a big time priority come draft day, but the Cardinals ranked 30th in gross average and had the worst net punting average in the whole league. While it’s hard to say whom they will go after, but the best rated coming in is Georgia Tech’s Durant Brooks.

Be sure to continue to check back as we will continue to be bringing you team-by-team draft articles. Also, be sure to check out our first round Mock Draft. Feel free to leave any comments you might have on the draft and each team’s draft needs in our comment box.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Arizona Cardinals 2008 NFL Draft Needs

Related Articles

Latest Headlines

Comments

Handicappers

Odds

Sections

Archives

Related Sites

Admin