NFL Draft: Seth Cox’s Cardinals Big Board

With the draft a mere 17 days away, I get asked frequently on Twitter about what players I like, what players I don’t like and who I would want the Cardinals to draft if scenario x, y, or z unfolds.

Well I’m going to try and make it easy for all of us.

Here is my Arizona Cardinals Big Board, with a hat tip to Eric Stoner of Rotoworld.com/BleacherReport.com and Josh Norris of Rotoworld.com/NFL.com for the tiers idea.

My rankings are specifically for the Cardinals — so if you are worried why I have Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert ranked lower than most, it’s simply because his position doesn’t lend itself to the Cardinals’ needs as much as maybe FIU safety Jonathan Cyprien.

Tier One

1. Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama

2. Barkevious Mingo, OLB, LSU

3. Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia

4. Eric Fisher, LT, Central Michigan

5. Luke Joeckel, LT, Texas A&M

6. Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah

7. Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia

8. Dion Jordan, OLB, Oregon

9. Jonathan Cooper, OG, North Carolina

10. Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU

These are the ten players I would be comfortable with the Cardinals taking with the seventh pick in the draft. I know, no Lane Johnson, that’s unfortunately how I feel about Johnson.

Tier Two

11. Lane Johnson, LT, Oklahoma

12. Tank Carradine, DE, Florida State

13. Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia

14. Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee

15. Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State

16. Jonathan Cyprien, S, Florida International

17. Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State

18. Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame

19. Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas

20. Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State

The above are ten players I’d be in favor of the Cardinals selecting if they were to move down in the first round.

Tier Three

21. Larry Warford, OG, Kentucky

22. Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri

23. Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas

24. Zac Dysert, QB, Miami (Ohio)

25. Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama

26. D.J. Fluker, OG, Alabama

27. Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina

28. Kevin Minter, LB, LSU

29. Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State

30. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson

31. Barrett Jones, OL, Alabama

32. Dallas Thomas, OG, Tennessee

33. Justin Pugh, OG, Syracuse

Trade down a little further than the mid-teens, move into the back end of round one, or take advantage of players that will inevitably fall to their second round pick, this is how I would prioritize them.

Tier Four

34. Corey Lemonier, OLB, Auburn

35. Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama

36. Terron Armstead, OT, Arkansas Pine-Bluff

37. Travis Kelce, TE, Cincinnati

38. Damontre Moore, OLB, Texas A&M

39. Bjoern Werner, OLB, Florida State

40. Datone Jones, DE, UCLA

41. Sio Moore, LB, Connecticut

42. D.J. Swearinger, S, South Carolina

43. Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State

44. Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington

45. Menelik Watson, LT, Florida State

46. Vance McDonald, TE, Rice

47. Eric Reid, S, LSU

48. David Bakhtiari, OL, Colorado

49. Robert Alford, CB, Southeast Louisiana

50. Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin

51. Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee

If the Cardinals add another second round pick or these players somehow fall to round three, they are all guys I would target.

Even if the Cardinals took any of these players at the top of round two, I wouldn’t be able to find much fault.

Tier Five

52. Margus Hunt, DE, Southern Methodist

53. Cornelius Washington, OLB, Georgia

54. Quanterus Smith, OLB, Western Kentucky

55. D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston

56. Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia

57. Phillip Thomas, S, Fresno State

58. Shamarko Thomas, S, Syracuse

59. Duke Williams, S, Nevada

60. Travis Frederick , OG/C, Wisconsin

61. Robert Woods, WR, USC

62. Chris Faulk, OT, LSU

63. Khaseem Greene, OLB, Rutgers

64. Stedman Bailey, WR, West Virginia

65. Kwame Geathers, DT, Georgia

66. Michael Buchanan, OLB, Illinois

67. Jamie Collins, OLB, Southern Mississippi

These are guys I don’t know how they may fit with Arizona or where they’ll be drafted, but I like them as football players.

They make plays, help their teams win games and most of them have a reason for why they are in this tier of players.

These would be third or fourth round targets if I was running Cardinals draft.

Tier Six

68. Tyler Bray, QB, Tennessee

69. Le’Veon Bell, RB, Michigan State

70. Marquise Goodwin, WR, Texas

71. Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame

72. B.W. Webb, CB, William and Mary

73. Josh Evans, S, Florida

74. Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse

75. Shamarko Thomas, S, Syracuse

76. Mike Glennon, QB, North Carolina State

77. Kiko Alonso, LB, Oregon

78. Darius Slay, CB, Mississippi State

79. EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State

80. Matt Elam, S, Florida

81. Dennis Johnson, RB, Arkansas

82. Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M

83. Gavin Escobar, TE, San Diego State

84. Xavier Nixon, OT, Florida

85. Jon Bostic, LB, Florida

86. Brian Schwenke, C, California

87. Earl Wolff, S, North Carolina State

88. David Amerson, S, North Carolina State

89. Johnathan Hankins, DT, Ohio State

90. William Gholston, DE, Michigan State

91. Trevardo Williams, OLB, Conneticut

92. Jelani Jenkins, LB, Florida

93. Kevin Reddick, LB, North Carolina

94. Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU

95. Sanders Commings, CB, Georgia

96. Mychal Rivera, TE, Tennessee

97. Alvin Bailey, OG, Arkansas

98. David Quessenberry, OG, San Jose State

99. Ace Sanders, WR, South Carolina

100. Spencer Ware, RB, LSU

Ending my list is a group of players I like throughout the draft. Maybe they go early, maybe they go later, but this is the top 100 players I have my eye on for the Cardinals right now.

The week of the draft, I will add an additional 50 names, to give Cardinals fans 150 names to watch for on draft day.

Follow @AZSports