Arizona Cardinals produce functional draft class

Functional. That’s the word I keep coming back to when thinking about the Cardinals’ 2014 draft.

Not splashy. Not overly sexy. Nothing that dazzles.

Just…functional. Practical.

A hard-hitting safety in Deone Bucannon. A blocking tight end in Troy Niklas. A quick wide receiver from a school (Pittsburg St.) with a mascot (the Gorillas) in a state (Kansas) that 95 percent of America probably didn’t realize existed (his name is John Brown and sources tell me he has wings on his ankles).

Last year’s name recognition wattage flashed in the form of Tyrann Mathieu, Andre Ellington, Stepfan Taylor and Kevin Minter. There was plenty of sizzle in those names; a quality that seems lacking this year. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Most of the things the Cardinals came home from the store with were items they needed and not necessarily things the fans wanted. It takes a strong man to walk past the high-def TVs and bluetooth speakers at Costco and go to the back to get ten pounds of ground beef.

The one splurge selection — Logan Thomas — feels like a long shot; though I suppose they all are at that point. If his accuracy issues were really that easily correctable, something tells me a player with that size, speed and arm strength would have been a chance worth taking much earlier in the draft. I think if anyone can “fix” him it’s Bruce Arians and his crew. Still, an offensive lineman or another guy to provide depth in this physical division might have been the better play there.

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