Fox, NFL Network analyst Davis: Cardinals should take Reuben Foster at No. 13
Apr 14, 2017, 4:30 PM
Alabama's Reuben Foster tackles Clemson's Hunter Renfrow (13) during the first half of the NCAA college football playoff championship game Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
The 2017 NFL Draft is just under two weeks away, and at this point there’s no concrete idea of who the Arizona Cardinals will take at No. 13.
Will they pick their quarterback of the future? Do they strengthen the defensive side of the ball? Or do they select one of the many great receivers in this draft?
Nobody outside of the organization knows for sure, but if Charles Davis of Fox Sports was in charge of the Cardinals, he’d pick a defender.
“For me, I’d probably run to the podium for Reuben Foster,” Davis said on Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 RM. “I know that we are in an age of offense and explosion and all that, but the idea that you can pick up a Reuben Foster, who’s a legit inside linebacker and maybe even expand what you can do with Deone Bucannon.”
Arizona had the second-ranked defense in 2016 and is already loaded with excellent players like Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and Bucannon.
So why Foster? He measures at 6-foot-1 and 229 pounds, and was one of the best linebackers in the SEC. Last season, as a senior, he recorded 115 tackles (13 for loss) and five sacks for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Additionally, he was named as a first team All-SEC linebacker in 2016.
“Foster can run, hit, diagnose, I think he drops into coverage well,” Davis said. “He also brings an edge and a tone that I think everyone would like to have on the defensive side of the ball and I think it spreads throughout the team. I think it’s a team that could utilize that, and utilize trying to get their edge back.”
Foster isn’t the sexiest pick, but Davis thinks the linebacker would be a great fit in Arizona. Davis also doesn’t think the Cardinals should take a quarterback, even with Carson Palmer nearing the end of his career at age 37.
“If you had said this last year, with the team going into last season, I probably would have said (Patrick) Mahomes, because it looked like a team that was prepared to make that big run,” Davis said. “This team doesn’t have that look right now, and the expectation is not there.”
