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2008 DRAFT ISSUE
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DEPTH CHART
Regularly
Updated - Last
Updated
July 22, 2008
Return to Highlights Page
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OURS/NOT
THE OFFICIAL CARDINAL DEPTH CHART. COLOR KEY -
Starter/ Back Up/Injured
- IR or Cannot Play//Practice
Squad/Signed
Rookie/Not
Tendered or UFA |
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Overview - There are two
ways to upgrade a roster: (1) bring in better players and (2) improve the
players you've got. We feel the current Cardinal roster has the most talent
of any in recent memory. We're not convinced that the Cardinals' problems
this season were do to lack of talent so much as it was getting this talent
to play better together.
In most of the games we lost, it was the little things that broke the back
of the team - penalties, blown coverages, poor technique, inability to run
the ball, lack of gap discipline, lapses in concentration on special teams.
We hope the new coaching staff will be more demanding of its players and
establishes a much higher standard of consistent performance from them.
Certain players can no longer be allowed to consistently commit 1 - 2
penalties per game (On two occasions this season, the entire team we faced
was only penalized once!!!). We also hope they develop young talent -
especially at CB - so that they play up to their excellent potential.
With this in mind, we present
the following "state of the roster" but hope you'll agree that, with
better coaching, this roster - the way it is right now - is a playoff
roster: |
Quarterbacks (3)
7
Leinart,13 Warner,
02 St. Pierre, 12 Morelli
State of the
Position
-
The addition of St.
Pierre as our #3 solidifies our positions. There are also reports that the
club may re-sign Hasselbeck. While there is no pressing urgency to add more
QB depth, adding an athletic type with tremendous potential (like a Josh
Johnson) if available after round 4 might make a lot of sense. |
Running Backs (5)
RB -
32
James,
31 Shipp,
28 JJ Arrington,
30 Vincent, 33 Baylark,
34 Hightower
FB - 45 T Smith, 46 Castille,
44 D Johnson
State of the
Position
-
James still has a couple
of years left in the tank, but if he were to go down, the Cards would have
to rely on a two-headed tandem of Mr. Inside (Shipp) and Mr. Outside
(Arrington). Baylark looks like more of a journeyman backup type, and we
don't know much about Vincent other than he weighs 224 lb. Cards drafted
between tackles thumper in Tim Hightower. He figures to challenge Shipp,
Baylark and Vincent for a couple of remaining RB roster spots. |
Wide Receivers (5 or
6)
WRX -
81 Boldin,
87 Morey, 85 Urban,
86 Merritt
WRZ -80 Doucet, 15 Breaston,
18
Cornelius
WRH -
11 Fitzgerald,
10 Rector,19 Long
State of the
Position
-
Cards are set at the two
starting positions with Fitz and Q. We lost our #3 when Bryant Johnson
skipped town. It will be interesting to see if Breaston has gotten bigger
and stronger without losing any of his quicks. He has the potential for
being a very capable #3. The Cards like Merritt (who got injured in
midseason). Morey is a solid #4 or #5 backup who can step in when necessary.
Urban showed flashes of excellence last year but must become more
consistent. We're dying to see what Rector can bring. We don't know much
about Cornelius. Cards replaced slot wideout Bryant Johnson and added some
depth behind Boldin by drafting Early Doucet with their 3rd pick. |
Tight Ends (3)
82 Pope, 89
Patrick, 84 Tuman,
83 Beinemann,
49 Shor
State of the
Position
-
Cards added a
blocking TE in Jereme Tuman (Steelers). If he still has anything left, he
should represent an automatic blocking upgrade to our O-line while allowing
Pope, Beinemann (who signed his tender) and Patrick to continue maturing.
This draft is not deep in TE's who can both catch and block let alone block.
Our guess is that the Cards will be content to continue developing
youngsters Pope and Patrick. |
Offensive Line (8 or
9)
LT-
69 Gandy,
65 Coleman
LG-
74
Wells, 61 E
Brown
OC-
50 A
Johnson,
63 Sendlein,
64 Peters
RG-
76
Lutui,
66 Medder, 67
Satele
RT - 75 L Brown,
68 Vallejo,
72 B Keith, 60 Clifford
State of the
Position -
Our front five is
"OK" (although we'd like to see better run-blocking from Wells and cannot
consider Gandy to be an elite LT although he did get the job done last
year). Cards have virtually no depth at tackle (unless you consider backup G
Elton Brown capable on both the left and right sides). This draft is deep in
quality tackles who can play on the left side. Cards waited til round 7
before grabbing raw 6-5 345 behemoth Brandon Keith. |
Defensive Line (8 or
9)
LDE- 56 Okeafor, 79 Iwebema,
95 Schobel,
UT- 90 Dockett,
96 Kolodziej,
71 B Robinson (Wesley)
NT
98 Watson, 78 Branch, 97 B Robinson
(Fresno), 73 Dykes, )
RDE/WLB 94 A Smith,
93
C Campbell, 96 Tafoya,
62 Banks
State of the
Position
-
Gabe Watson fractured
his kneecap in a freak offseason treadmill accident. New free agent pickup
Bryan Robinson has played a little NT but is a tad light at 304. Don't be
surprised if the Cards go trolling for a Red Bryant, Ahtyba Rubin or Frank
Okam in the mid-late rounds. There has been a lot of talk about the
Cardinals' seeking to add a more explosive outside dimension - either at DE
or OLB. The interchangeability of the two positions makes it hard to gauge
depth (because we can always move an OLB to DE to shore up depth or vice
versa). But all in all, we'd have to agree that - our backup depth at both
positions is, at best, kind of shaggy (and we'll have to pray that Chike and
B-Train remain healthy. Cards loaded up on DE's in the draft, but each was
different: Calais Campbell is a 6-8, vine-armed every-down DE who can also
play inside. Ken Iwebema and Chris Harrington profile more as strong side
run resisters from the LDE position. |
Linebackers (7)
SLB- 55 LaBoy,
51 Stewart, 57 Holloway,
ILB-
54 Hayes, 52 Beisel
ILB
58 Dansby,
WLB 92 Berry,
53 Haggans,
59
Harrington, 37 Highsmith
State of the
Position
-
LaBoy, Stewart and
Haggans help to replenish this depleted unit in the wake of departures by
Blackstock, Pace and Brandon Johnson. We've pretty much exhausted our
discussion of OLB needs in the section above (defensive end ). Inside -
while Beisel is a solid backup who provides toughness, instinctiveness and
grit, he's often a half-step later than Hayes or Dansby getting to the ball.
Outside, we'll have to hope and pray that Berry stays healthy for the entire
season. it will be interesting to see whether Holloway can show that
his one or two sensational preseason plays from last season can translate
into something more consistent (and permanent). Look for the Cards to look
to add at least one LB (possibly 2) in the draft - at either position (with
the ability to play inside or outside a plus). |
Defensive Backs (9)
LCB-
25
E Green, 20
R Brown,
22 Ware, 36 M Brown
RCB- 26 Hood,
29
Rodgers-Cromartie,27
Adams,
41 Bain, 23 Minter
FS-
21 Rolle,
47 Francisco, 38 Keyes
SS- 24 Wilson,35 Celestin,
22 Ware,
40 Tillman,
State of the
Position
-
The departure of Terence
Holt at safety represents addition by subtraction. With Francisco and Wilson
returning to health, we're set at starting safety. It looks as if Antrel
Rolle will complete the transition to free safety/nickel cover guy. When
healthy, Eric Green is on the cusp of being a very good cover corner (but he
still isn't quite there yet). Rod Hood is solid if unspectacular at the
other corner. Cards could use a game breaking corner who could quickly
become a #1 shutdown guy. McKelvin, M Jenkins and Rodgers-Cromartie were
strong candidates to be our first round (#16) draft pick. We grabbed
Rodgers-Cromartie who brings 4.37 speed and game breaking athleticism to the
position. He'll have to earn a starting spot. Until then, he'll probably
play behind Green and Hood while seeing plenty of time in nickel and dime
situations. |
Specialty Teams (3)
K-01 Rackers
P- 09 D
Johnson
H - xx _______
LS- 48 Hodel
KR
-
28 Arrington
PR -
18 Breaston
State of the
Position
- Johnson
replaces Mitch Berger. In his best pro year (a few seasons ago) his net was
far more impressive than last year's punters, Mike Barr and Berger. Rackers
is back - he cost us the playoffs last year. Guys like that often rebound.
Sometimes they don't. Holdel is back. Breaston can be an exciting
return man (he can lug kickoffs and punts when called upon); however, if
he's asked to play a bigger role as a receiver, the Cards may seek to add an
explosive return specialist - either in a late round or free agency. |
Injured Reserve
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Unsigned Unrestricted &
Restricted Free Agents |
Practice Squad
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Did Not Report |
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