Word association with the Cardinals and their potential draft picks

I’m not stealing my kids’ Easter candy. Think of it as thinning the herd.

Our unspoken agreement this time of year is that they get everything in the basket but…..the Jelly Beans. I’m not talking about the gag-reflex-inducing spicy jelly beans or the way-too-fruity Starburst jelly beans. Not the ones that come in all sorts of crazy flavors that require a pamphlet to identify them. I speak of regular, old fashioned jelly beans.

I’m not sure what my choice in Easter candy says about me as a person. I tried Googling it.

Found out that if I liked Pastel M and M’s it meant I was seriously boring. Found out if I like “Peeps” I’m trendy. Since I couldn’t even find what my love of the plain old jelly bean makes me, I’m going to hazard a guess of old fashioned. Nostalgic.

On Thursday of this week the Arizona Cardinals are going to have an Easter basket of goodies in front of them….in a manner of speaking. But instead of Peeps or pastel M and M’s or Cadbury Crème Eggs, they could choose a Peterson. A Quinn. Maybe even a Gabbert. There are dozens of scenario’s that could play out for the Cardinals at #5. What does their pick say about them?

So, I tried this exercise. I wrote down every name of every player I thought the Caridinals had a shot at selecting in the first round. Then I wrote down the first word that popped into my head. What does it say about the Cardinals if they draft…………

Von Miller – They’re lucky. Very lucky. If the premiere pass rusher of the draft were to fall this far I can’t imagine a scenario where the Cardinals wouldn’t just tell Roger Goodell, “you know what, just stay up there, yeah, don’t bother going back stage between picks, this ain’t gonna take long.” I really don’t see it happening but some media types who know a heck of a lot more about the draft than me, still have him available at #5.

Patrick Peterson – They’re playing it safe. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. Don’t reach and don’t overthink it. By all accounts the defensive back out of LSU will be a steady, reliable, Pro-Bowl caliber cornerback for years to come. Just lay up, get it on the green and watch good things happen.

Blaine Gabbert – They’re simple. Uncomplicated. Easy. Something is broke? Fix it. They have a need that is so glaring it requires polarized sunglasses to look at a depth chart. Need a quarterback, take a quarterback. But I think, like Miller, Gabbert is gone when the Cardinals pick comes around.

A.J. Green – They’re scared they’re going to lose their All-everything WR. But also very smart to prepare for life without him. They might not like what it looks like but they’re going macro and looking at the big picture. What if Larry Fitzgerald doesn’t come back? What if we can’t bring him back? The smart teams use the draft to replenish the roster in anticipation of voids that may not exist today but will in a year or perhaps two.

Robert Quinn – They’re desperate. If they choose Quinn over Peterson, who is much more of a sure thing, the Cardinals will have decided that the need for a pass rusher is dire. So dire in fact, they’ll pass on the safe pick in order to get a player who might be considered a reach at this spot.

And finally…..

Cam Newton – They’re crazy.

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