photo courtesy of azcardinals.comThis is a post by Mark on MVN.com 

A great deal of what the Cardinals might end up doing on draft day will be based on the decisions of teams ahead of them. The Cardinals rarely move up, with last years move to go get Alan Branch in the second round being the first move up I can remember in over a decade. Assuming they stand pat, which I believe they should unless they really have their eye on one of the left tackles that might drop to the 13th to 15th slot, we need to really take a good look at the team needs ahead of them and try to calculate who might be there for the Cardinals.

Of further consideration in this process is the fact that free agency is still moving along and the Cardinals are still shopping for linebackers and corner backs in the bargain bin, making it unlikely they will reach for need in those slots unless someone exceptional drops to them. That said lets do the 16 team mock in front of the Cardinals and then later this week take a fresh look at the Cardinals draft now that we know they have seven selection, instead of the hoped for eight.

1. Miami Dolphins: I think the Chris Long infatuation is a smoke screen. Nice player but not worthy of the number one pick. The safe pick here is the stud left tackle Jake Long of Michigan. The least amount of bust potential and possibly a future All Pro. I think the decision is Dorsey or Jake Long with the left tackle being the selection.
2. St. Louis Rams: The question is Glen Dorsey or Chris Long. To my mind, you can’t go wrong with either but if it were me, i’d grab Dorsey who a very rare player. If the Ram’s put Dorsey and Carriker at the tackles they would be exceptionally solid up the middle, but I could also see them taking a shot at Chris Long. I think the concerns about Dorsey’s legs are being circulated by teams praying he drops. The Rams take a franchise DT and grab Glen Dorsey here.

3. Atlanta Falcons: This team has a lot of needs but I don’t think they are sold on Ryan at QB. Their new GM is a Patriots system guy and I expect he has his board set and doesn’t care about pre-draft hype but has zeroed in on his type of player. I see Atlanta really wanting Dorsey but if the Ram’s take him they need to decide if they want Ryan or Long, or do they look to move down? In the end the hole at QB is too big to ignore and I see Ryan going in this slot if Dorsey is gone.

4. Oakland Raiders: Talk about a wild card. The Raiders spent their free agency money on the offensive side of the ball and we all know how Al Davis loves speed. I absolutely figure this to be the slot where someone trades up to get McFadden. The logical partner is Dallas, but I don’t see anyone bidding to come get McFadden and why would Jerry Jones bid against himself here? Regardless, i’ve changed my opinion on how high McFadden goes after his pro day and image rehab, so McFadden goes here to Oakland or Dallas.

5. KC Chiefs: It’s either going to be Chris Long or Ryan Clady here. I still think the Chiefs do as the Cardinals did last year and go get the guy they really want to be their future franchise LT and take Ryan Clady in this spot.

6. N.Y. Jets: This is a no lose deal for the Jets. Either Chris Long or Vernon Gholston is available at a position of need. I don’t think the Jets are sold on Gholston so Chris Long is the selection for the Jets.

7. N.E. Patriots: The Pats want to trade out, as always, and they have bait here with Cromartie, Gholston and Ellis on the board. I don’t see anyone eager to move up to this slot however so look for a Patriots type of guy here and watch them do what they always do and keep building their lines. Mostly likely Gholston in this slot.

8. Baltimore Ravens: Two premier corner backs on the board and I think Ozzie Newsome goes with the explosive threat of Leodis McKelven over the intriguing potential of Cromartie. Either way one of them probably goes off the board here, most likely Mckelven.

9. Cincinnati Bengals: Pinch your self guys, the NT you covet is here. Sedrick Ellis goes to the Bengals.

10. N.O. Saints: Back to reality last year as the defense got exposed. Look for either Keith Rivers, Phillip Merling or Dominque Rodgers Cromartie here. Rivers is the safe pick but Cromartie has super star potential and the Saints are known to grab for potential over college production. I think Cromartie is the pick.

11. Buffalo Bills: Ah, my old home town Bills, always a surprise on draft day. Known to reach for players they want you never really know with them and the conventional wisdom has them going wide receiver here. However, none of them look to be top 15 talents and all have holes in their games. As badly as they need a receiver the value here isn’t at that position. This is where it gets tricky for Cardinals fans. I see a logical spot for some team to trade up to get OT Chris Williams ahead of Denver, and Buffalo to trade down and still get their WR at a lower price. Either way I see Chris Williams as the value here.

12. Denver Broncos: Tough call here as the Imperial Leader just got his GM fired and will be calling the shots on draft day. He needs an OT but the best value here is Phillip Merling the DE from Clemson. An immediate boost to a Bronco’s defense that couldn’t stop anyone last year.

13. Carolina: Another tough read on a coach who needs to rebound from a really bad season. They need a wide out opposite Steven Smith and they need linebackers. I think you could see either Mayo from UT here or Rivers from USC. Rivers is the safer pick and seem’s like a John Fox kind of guy. Rivers goes here.

14. Chicago: Conventional wisdom has them picking Rashard Mendenhall here. It makes the most sense and he’s the best value so lets not buck conventional wisdom now.

15. Detroit Lions: Why does it always seem the Lions draft right in front of the Cardinals and always make some totally unexpected move that messes with their draft board. In the case of Matt Leinart, that was a good thing. The Cardinals and Lion’s have similar needs, CB, RB, OT, DE so who ever the Lion’s take will have a big impact on the Card’s options. I’ve heard they are intrigued with Talib, Otah, Jenkins and Harvey depending on what publication you read. No one knows what Matt Millen might do but I suspect he wants a corner badly as the Lion’s secondary is a disaster. It’s either Talib or Jenkins here with my guess being it’s Talib.

What does that leave the Cardinals on the board here? Mike Jenkins the CB from South Florida, Jeff Otah the huge OT from Pitt, Derrick Harvey who is a prototype OLB/DE combo and Mayo the fast rising OLB from Tennessee. I think it will be either Harvey or Otah if this scenario unfolds, with either being a very solid option. You’d have one really BIG set of bookends at OT but I think Harvey is the guy who is getting a lot of buzz pre-draft. Tune in for the next mock draft and i’ll lay out the seven picks.

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