NFL Draft: Seth Cox’s Cardinals Big Board
Apr 8, 2013, 3:29 PM | Updated: 6:12 pm
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.
