Every team has weaknesses on their rosters. Even all the way up to the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, NFL teams have issues that need to be addressed.
And the draft is the best way to address those weaknesses. Now just about a month away, we can take a close look at what each team needs, and how they could possibly address them by either drafting players or making trades to fill those holes before the start of the season.
The Arizona Cardinals almost made the playoffs last season, and they would have been, had they not been in the toughest division in football.
So what positions do the Cardinals need to address in draft season to be competitive against the Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers and possibly make a run to the playoffs.
Safety
The Cardinals already have one of the strongest defenses in the NFL, especially the NFC. They already have Patrick Peterson and now Antonio Cromartie in the secondary, along with the young Tyrann Mathieu, who had a solid rookie campaign at safety.
Still, Mathieu is coming off tears in his ACL and LCL and Arizona needs someone to play over the top at free safety while moving Mathieu over to strong safety. They could use a ball-hawking guy to play over the top and sure up their secondary.
If the Cardinals decide that they want to address this in the first round (which they should), it would be best to wait and have someone fall to them.
It’s not really the Cardinals’ style to reach for someone, but Calvin Pryor out of Louisville could potentially fall to them at No. 20 overall. Pryor is a little on the smaller size at 5-foot-11 and 207 pounds but he is great at dishing out big hits and has great awareness on the field, making him a big threat to pick passes off on any play.
In the second round, the Cardinals could target Deone Bucannon from Washington State, who is bigger at 6-foot-1, has a great vertical for a safety but is projected to go in the second or third rounds.
Despite having average speed, Bucannon is a physical player, which fits the mantra of Arizona’s defense nicely.
Quarterback
Arizona isn’t looking for a quarterback to start immediately, but it definitely needs to be looking for a second or third round pick to sit behind Carson Palmer for a year or two as he finishes out his career.
Palmer just barely broke a 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio last year, throwing 22 interceptions to 24 touchdowns, and he really stunted the Cardinals’ offensive success at times.
He still has the ability to start in this league, but the Cardinals should target Logan Thomas late in the draft to give themselves a solid rookie backup to be the heir apparent to Palmer.
At 6-foot-6, Thomas has amazing size and arm length, but his college career was really not all that impressive. But again, the Cardinals shouldn’t be looking for someone to start right away.
Thomas has the athleticism, and could use some time on the bench to hone his skills in the NFL. He’s a durable quarterback who can make pass rushers miss and he has a quick and compact release which fits the mold of the current NFL quarterback (a la Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick).
Other possible options to fill this need are LSU’s Zach Mettenberger and Georgia’s Aaron Murray, whose draft stocks are hurt by senior-year injuries, but they both could develop into NFL quarterbacks over time.
Offensive Tackle
Arizona already showed this offseason that they are willing to build a better offensive line, spending money on Jared Veldheer this offseason and drafting Jonathan Cooper in last year’s draft.
They could take the next step toward protecting Palmer and making room for Andre Ellington by taking an offensive tackle. Palmer was sacked 41 times last season, and the Cardinals were 23rd in the league in rushing offense.
The Cardinals already have what could be a solid starting five on the line, but this is a pretty deep draft in terms of offensive lineman even after the top three or four players who are locks for the first round.
On the second day, Arizona could upgrade over Bobby Massie at right tackle by taking Zack Martin. Martin can play multiple positions (he’s being ranked by various sites as a guard and a tackle), and could potentially move over to guard if Massie pans out at tackle.
Martin is an athletic tackle, but his size would allow him to play on the interior of the line and he can engage defenders quickly.
In terms of straight depth, Cameron Fleming from Stanford is also an option. Fleming is even bigger than Martin and could also move inside, but isn’t as athletic. Still, Fleming was a starting offensive lineman last season for the Stanford Cardinals when the team ran for a school-record 2,904 yards.