NFL Network analyst: Talent is available, but Cardinals may have tough time finding pass rusher

There’s little doubt the Arizona Cardinals would be pleased to find a pass rusher with their first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Unfortunately for them they own the 29th overall selection, and it’s usually a bit difficult to find one when you are picking that late.

Also not helping the Cardinals, according to NFL Network analyst Charles Davis, is a lack of depth in terms of pass rushers in this draft.

“I think it’s much more of an interior defensive lineman’s draft,” he told Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday.

That’s not to say there will not be any players chosen who can get after the quarterback, and Davis cited Eastern Kentucky’s Noah Spence as someone whose name has come up a lot.

“A lot of us probably had him in the top 15, top 20 picks going into the Combine,” he said. “It wasn’t the greatest Combine for him, and if some of the things I’ve heard are true — and you always have to ferret things out that he wasn’t quite as impressive in interviews as people needed him to be and wanted him to be because, remember, he’s coming off some off-field issues that needed to clear up  — he may drop in the draft and he may be one of those guys towards where Arizona is picking might still be on the board and available. He would be great value.”

The 6-foot-2 Spence was first-team All-Big Ten for Ohio State as a sophomore in 2013, but failed a pair of drug tests and was banned from the conference and never again suited up for the Buckeyes. He also received treatment for an addiction to Ecstasy. However, instead of heading for the draft he transferred to Eastern Kentucky, where he tallied 22.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks.

The Cardinals have had some success with players who bring questionable pasts, as Tyrann Mathieu’s successful turnaround led to GM Steve Keim proclaiming that the safety has changed his approach to the NFL Draft with regards to giving players second chances.

But, Keim noted for players like that he especially pays attention to the interview process with the player, looking to learn if he is truly sorry for what has transpired and is dedicated to turning his life around.

If not Spence, another player Davis mentioned was Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd. The 6-foot-6, 244-pound Bulldog finished with 17 sacks in 38 games.

“Who knows, because he actually is a long guy,” Davis said. “I mean, they talk about armspan and he measured better than we expected coming in. Could he be that type of a guy?”

Davis added Ohio State’s Darron Lee is another player who brings great measurables to the table, but noted he was not asked to rush the quarterback much with the Buckeyes which means the Cardinals — and every other NFL team — will be forced to try and project what kind of skill the player will bring.

“And many times when we project a guy to become a great pass rusher when he hasn’t done it before, often times that leads us into trouble, it makes us wrong,” he said.

Davis cited the Miami Dolphins’ Dion Jordan, who was chosen third overall in 2013, and then, going a little further back, Aaron Curry, who was taken with the fourth pick in 2009. Up to now Jordan has yet to make an impact while Curry was out of the league by 2013 with just 5.5 sacks to his name.

While the Combine and other drills and tests can certainly prove helpful in judging a player, Davis instead seems to prefer on-field results. That’s why it’s not surprising that one of the linebackers he does like in this draft is Arizona’s Scooby Wright, even though the junior had a fairly rough go of it at the Combine.

“He’s an intriguing kid because of his production,” he said. “Any scout worth his salt knows that any kid who produces like that kid did — you go back to the 2014 season, as you guys know, that was ridiculous; it was like every big play, Scooby had the ball in his hands somehow — you don’t turn that down.

“The 4.91 (40 time) is a cause of concern because at some point you still have to make athletic plays against people; everything about him being instinctive, everything about him being in the right place, that means his margin for error is way smaller.”

If anything, Davis said Wright’s lack of ideal measurables will cause him to fall down draft boards, but not off of them. That said, the analyst noted the 2014 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner who racked up 163 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and six forced fumbles that season is a player he’d have no problem selecting.

“He’s the type of kid that I would love to have and love to be able to not just coach, but have on my ball club,” he said. “But running 4.91, there is a reality factor that you can only get away with that in certain situations. It’s not as if he can minimize it on each and every play, and that’s what happens. When you run that slow you’re really putting so much pressure on your instincts.”

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