I'm bored. Comments on Scout Inc.'s new top 32

Obviously they read my blog because Ingram just shot up to #7 rating at a 95 (Hello out there.  Hello?  Nevermind)  That doesn’t mean he won’t be there at #13, but it does mean they can’t trade down and hope he’s still there in the low 20's.  I love Ingram, so I was surprised to see him ranked below Upshaw for that long.  Cest la vie.

Yes, Courtney Upshaw will be a solid player.  But I’m wondering how good he is when he’s not playing with two other 1^st round picks.  And I haven’t seen enough to keep him out of the mid 20’s of the 1^st round. #8 seems too high.

I haven’t said anything on DT Brockers because the Cards won’t take a DT this year (I should say "better not" because D. Williams and D. Carter are on the roster).  But I must say this guy looks like a potential monster clogger.  The Panthers are going to be happy they got this guy come January next year.

My “what the hell are you talking about” question is why is Blackmon at #12?  Can you imagine if the Cards could sneak Blackmon at #13?  Holy crap.  Peyton Manning might play for free in Arizona next year if that happens.

DeCastro is #14.  Just saying.

Janoris Jenkins leapfrogged Dre Kirkpatrick.  Small school vs. Alabama (Pro team in college).  Kirkpatrick doesn’t thrill me with his play as much as his potential play.  Maybe people are wondering if he’ll produce.

Ryan Tannehill at #16?  Wow!  I guess I need to look at the tape again, because that guy look likes a project to me.  (But hey, I thought that about Ponder and Locker last year… wait… those guys are projects)

Jonathin Martin at #18!  Jonathin Martin at #18!  Jonathin Martin at #18!  Oh please, please stay around the high teens for 2 more months.  And no one tell KC that they need an OT.  Okay?

Kendall Wright is #20.  Dangit.  Stop ranking all the players I like for the Cards so high. 

Quick, name the top ASU prospect in this year’s draft.  If you said Burfict you obviously never watched him play.  How bout Osweiller coming in at #21 and Burfict at #23?  Osweiller is more interesting to me than Tannehill.  He will surprise people with how athletic he is.  Burfict will surprise people at how selfish he plays.  Good luck Ray Lewis/T. Suggs on mentoring this guy.

Mike Adams is still rating at an 89 and lands at #27 overall.  I like his base.  He mauls people on the run.  I think he’s a twin of Levi Brown.  He’ll be great in a sensible run offense, but he’ll get burned by the speedy DEs in a heavy pass offense. 

Last year the Cards had a shot at two guys with an 88 rating in the 2^nd round and landed one of ‘em in R. Williams.  This year the last 88 lands at #30.  What are the odds that one of those 88’s is still there in the 3^rd round this year?  Yeah, the Kolb trade was a dumb-ass trade, but I won’t say I told you so. (I love saying I told you so, by saying I won’t say I told you so).

2 guys to pass on at 13

I'm not sure why they are ranked so high.  I mean what do people really see in Riley Reiff and Ryan Tannehill that has them currently in the top 10? 

Reiff is a decent enough run blocker.  He's big and agile and should fit into an offense that relies on the run.  But he doesn't look good protecting the passer.  I'm sorry.  He just looks like he hates to pass block.  I would hate to see him slip to #13 and see the Cardinals pick him.  I think I'd rather have Levi Brown than this kid.  Let's just hope he slips to KC and they take him as we scream with delight and grab Jonathan Martin.  There is no doubt Martin fits this offense better than Reiff.  Actually, I like Martin over Reiff in any offense.

Tannehill is a great athlete.  He was a star WR before he switched to QB.  His feet are super quick and he has decent pocket presence.  But no way is he ready for the 1st round discussion.  He's a project.  Yes, he is fast.  But really skinny.  Emphasize skinny.  He looks like a WR playing QB-skinny.  I don't see enough out of him to project him that high.  I might take a chance on him in the late 2nd.  But I'm looking at Foles before I look at Tannehill.  (And I'm not a big Foles fan.  He's plays too nervous.)

Melvin Ingram at 13?

The question is, do you believe in Acho and Schofield?  Because if you do, I don't see the reason to draft Ingram with the 13th pick.  He's definitely worthy of the pick, but he's only taken here if you think you can't get something better at a position you have a hole in.  (say OT... both sides).  I actually believe that those two are solid players, but I'm not sold that they will be ProBowl players. 

As for Ingram, he'd be a perfect fit here.  He's big, 6-2, 270.  He's got good feet.  I mean real good feet.  He has an upper echelon athleticism that few have.  He can engage a double team and still have his eyes on a player slipping out of the backfield to make a play.  He can take three guys out of a play with just his instinct.  He's got a good nose for the ball.  And more importantly he can defend the pass well.  With the Cards he can line up anywhere on the line and rush the passer or drop back into coverage.  I see him as an elite LB in the future.  However, I do see a potential problem with his draft status because of his apparent lack of speed in the 40.  I don't think that'll show up on the field, but scouts might knock him back a peg if he doesn't show well at the combine.  I'm not worried about it.  I like him less than V. Miller last year, but I like him a heck of a lot more than Upshaw this year.  He's way more versatile

O.K. so do I grab him if I had the 13 pick?  Here's where I'm at now.  Luck is a clearly #1.  But after that its a little fuzzy to me.  I think Kalil and Reiff fit more to a run offense which doesn't match the Cards (ala Levi Brown).  Richardson is a stud, but are they gonna draft 3 RBs in a row?  I don't touch Griffin with a 12 foot pole.  I'm also not even gonna look at a D lineman.  The Cards shouldn't either.  So I think need-wise it goes:

1. Andrew Luck
2. Justin Blackmon
3. Morris Claiborne
4. Jonathin Martin
5. David DeCastro
6. Melvin Ingram
7. Kendall Wright

You don't have a chance at #1-3, but the latter four might be there.  (And yes, they need a future HOF guard from Stanford.  Leave me alone. )  I like Ingram here if they don't trade down for Wright.  He's a good fit.   (I should also point out that I need to see more film on Dre Kirkpatrick before I lump him in.)  All seven of these guys make this team better and would start some time this season. 

However the Cardinal needs by position look like:

1. Left OT
2. Right OT
3. 2nd WR
4. Left OLB
5. HOF QB (Okay, so maybe this should go #1)
6. Stanford G
7. 2nd CB

That stabilizes J. Martin at the top of the list that might be there at 13.  And if they don't get those OT positions taken care of, it won't matter who's the #2 WR, because they won't be seeing the ball get out of the QBs hands.  K.C. is taking a hard look at Martin, but I'm hoping they pass on account that they are stupid.  I can hope can't I?

All this leaves me to believe that only DeCastro, Ingram, and Wright will be there at 13.  And since you and I both know the Cards won't take a Guard at 13, DeCastro's out.  Wright is a big stretch here as I've gone into detail before about.  So that leaves us with Ingram.  Right now CBS has him slated at the 20th spot and ESPN at the 17th.  If we pretend this stays true to the draft, I'm totally fine with entertaining offers from teams in the low 20s.  I feel like Ingram and Wright might be around and they could use a 2nd round pick.  If those two are gone they can think about drafting the other two OTs (Zebrie Sanders or Mike Adams) or trading down into the early 30s where they are projected at going. 

So here's what we've got:  1) they sit on the pick until they are on the clock 2) they entertain offers 3a)  if one comes up they grab Ingram or Wright later or maybe one of the two OTs or 3b) if no good offers come, they draft Ingram.  And with that pick, I think they will have upgraded the most important position in this 3-4 D.

What the Haley?

Why isn't Todd Haley the Cards OC right now?  Good question.  First of all, its clear that Whiz doesn't want him as the OC, but rather wants him to take a position 2 rungs down from what he was this year: head coach to QB coach.  Essentially he'd be going from coaching 52 players to coaching 3 players.  I mean it makes perfect sense when you think about it.  All Todd has done is revamp a pathetic Cards offense to go to the Superbowl, and then take a really bad KC team and make them into a monster on the run game (and a brief playoff appearance).  And we all know how awesome Whiz has done with his offense in the last 2 years, finishing 31st and 19th respectively.  I mean why would Whiz want to hire someone that might think for himself and take a chance on not being able to force him to do as he wants.  Why would he risk losing that power?  Its painfully clear that Whiz has his hand up Mike Miller' @#$ and is performing one heck of a ventriliquist act.  It would be silly to get a guy in here who knows what he's doing and take more pressure off of Whiz.  I don't have a clue why everyone is so upset that Todd hasn't been hired yet.

Dealing with the Colts.

I've read a couple of articles out of Indi and hear the makings of a polarizing topic: trade Peyton or trade Luck.  It sounds like they'll have a hard time keeping both happy and it would probably benefit them to trade one.  So the argument comes down to what you want: a) be faithful to the face of the franchise and ride Peyton off into the sunset? or b) look to the future with Luck and become annihilated by the discontent of thousands of loyal fans? 

So what do you do?  Frankly, I don't give a rip.  It's Indi.  They're not my team.  I just want to know if the Cards can stick their noses in and land one of the two options. 

Would I trade for Peyton?  Hell yeah.  Would I sign him for a lot of money?  Hell yeah.  If he's healthy (a strong presumption in this argument).  Would I give Kolb and say a 3rd round pick for him?  Hell yeah. 

What intrigues me more is of course the Luck argument.  I've heard that you would at least need to offer two firsts and two seconds.  People get all bent out of shape over that saying its too much.  Publicly, I would too.  So I could drive down the price.  Privately, I would do it in a heart beat.  And phooey to all the talk about extra picks in the late rounds.  Those I'd throw in if needed.   And I'd go a step further.  I'd give them my next 3 first picks for Luck.  Hell yeah I would.  I love the draft more than the next guy, but this kind of QB only comes around once every 10 years.  So I would gladly sacrifice not being able to watch the next few drafts KNOWING that I have Luck at QB.  Sorry, but I think this argument is a no brainer.  My only discussion with Indi would be how much do you want? 

You mean to tell me that you wouldn't give Dan Williams, Beanie Wells, and DRC for Andrew Luck?  That's three first picks in a row.  Shoot, I'd give Williams and Beanie and the next 2 first rounders for Luck.  That's four firsts.  And I'd throw in Kolb for good measure.

Add one Freak to the mix.

He's a bit of a tweener.  I mean, he's part solid, part freak.  I was shocked when I watched him, but I'm a believer in Kendall Wright out of Baylor.  That tight rope act for 25 yards against K State was impressive.  But what caught my eye was his fire.  When he doesn't catch the ball for whatever reason, he ignites up.  Like every catch is a potential TD that he lost out on.  I like that fire.  Of course, it's always a fine line.  He could be a fiery Steve Smith and make his team better by getting in their face, or he could be a moron like T.O. and tear his team down.  My gut says he's in the mold of Smith.  He's little.  He's fiery.  He catches stuff and makes it look cool.  He would be the ABSOLUTE PERFECT compliment to Fitz.  He would demand the ball, but Fitz's greatness would hold him in check.  It would be a similar match up that Randy Moss had with Chris Carter. 

Right now, he's projected to go 15 to 30 in the first.  He's only 5-10 (Steve Smith is 5-9) so teams won't want to take an early chance on him, so he might drop into the 20's.  I'd also bet that teams will be more enamored with Floyd, Sanu, and Jefferey's size so that would solidify his descent into the late 20's.  Plus, I think many teams are dumb enough to think RGIII was the reason he was good.  Also, consider that this is a good free agent year for WRs and you have a steal in the making in the 2nd round.   And if he gets drafted that late, this guy will have a chip the size of the Sears Tower on his shoulder and will be looking to make everyone eat crow that passed on him.  It's official.  I'm giddy.

Addendum: Freaks

Luke Kuechly (top 20)  Not a freak.  Sorry.  He's too small, too slow.  If you want a guy that is a solid tackler and will 'Rudy' his way through a game than this is your guy.  They say he will put on some more weight which could help.  Has a great nose for the ball, both on the run and through the air.  I wonder how he would project as a strong safety.  He's not half as good as Darryl Washington, and a 5 shades below Paris Lenon.  Plus he projects into a 4-3 better.   I'd pass on him at 13th.