Its finally here: Draft Day 2019. After living a life of one long continuous Kyler Murray take for the past 3 months, its finally time to put all the speculation to rest and get some real answers.
Its a franchise defining draft for the Cardinals, who will have the opportunity to radically overhaul a still depleted, thin roster and greatly improve their chances of success in 2019 and beyond.
What would make this a dream draft for the Cardinals? Below, I outline their first three picks and who they should take if they want to knock this draft out of the park.
1:1 - DL Quinnen Williams
Williams would be a massive upgrade for the Cardinals defensive line and a player who’s impact would go beyond the DL. LB’s would have more freedom to operate behind him and DB’s would be more effective in coverage because they wouldn’t have to cover downfield for long periods of time. Pass on the opportunity on Kyler Murray for the opportunity to make your team better in the trenches, would be my advice to Bidwill/Keim.
2:1 - CB Greedy Williams or Byron Murphy
Greedy Williams is 6’2 and the best cover corner in the draft. But he’s also had one of the stranger pre-draft experiences for a top player in recent years. He reportedly did not meet with a single team in the pre-draft process. There are personality red flags but if you can land a blue chip cover corner at the top of round 2 to compliment or even potentially replace Patrick Peterson, it would be a dream haul. Byron Murphy is a different player but similar result. He doesn’t have prototypical size but he’s sticky in coverage and immediately would upgrade the Cardinals secondary in a division where that’s always a good thing.
3:1 - WR Hakeem Butler or JJ Arcega-Whiteside
The Cardinals have used a top 3 round draft pick on a WR the last 2 years and its still one of the biggest needs on the team. Chad Williams may not make the team and Christian Kirk needs some help down the road. Butler is an athletic freak with great size at 6’5 and great speed having run the 40 in a sub 4.5 time. He had some drops in college but would be a home run swing at the top of the third round. Arcega-Whiteside is a bit smaller at 6’2 but also ran a sub 4.5 40 and is the more polished receiver. Either guy could be a starter opposite Christian Kirk for many years to come.
With Sean Kugler on board at OL and a flurry of signings there in free agency, the Cardinals can afford to wait until the middle rounds to grab a few OL prospects.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Steve Keim led draft without a handful of tiny school prospects drafted so Keim can prove his hound-dogging skills are better than your GM’s.
Last season was a nightmare for the organization and its fans, but if the Cardinals play their cards right in this draft it could start to feel more like a dream haul.