4-down territory: How Doug & Wolf hope Cardinals attack the NFL Draft

Doug Franz and Ron Wolfley have talked out all their scenarios for the Arizona Cardinals heading into the 2021 NFL Draft.

Now it’s putting their best-case scenarios in digital ink.

The Doug & Wolf co-hosts on Thursday went four downs to lay out their expectations for how general manager Steve Keim and his Arizona staff handle the draft next week.

It’s four-down territory, starting with what Franz and Wolfley hope happens in the first round with the Cardinals holding the No. 16 pick.

First down

Franz: “A lot of rumors that say the Cardinals would love to get one of the Alabama receivers (DeVonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle). If they are there at No. 16, go right ahead. But the promise of (South Carolina cornerback) Jaycee Horn — and I realize it’s a gamble — I do not want to trade up and find out Jaycee Horn is available at 16.

“I hope Jaycee Horn is the choice, and I hope he’s there for the Arizona Cardinals.”

Wolfley: “Stay right where you are. There will be a cornerback, I believe, that will fall or a wide receiver that will fall to the No. 16 spot. There’s going to be a lot more surprises in this draft than I think we’ve ever seen before. Stay where you are, there will be a corner or wide receiver that I think the Cardinals will love right there at 16.”

Second down

Franz: “The second-round pick … depending on how wide receivers are falling and obviously depending on their (first-round) pick, I don’t want you to reach for a receiver because I think there’s something special with Rondale Moore.

“I don’t want to overpay … but I think other people are valuing him that high. The receiver out of Purdue, my second-down dream scenario is after you go corner at one, you get Rondale Moore, Purdue receiver, at two.”

Wolfley: “Draft a thumper (at running back). I don’t care where you find this guy, is it the second round? Is (North Carolina back) Javonte Williams actually there at No. 49, ladies and gentleman? I don’t think he’s going to be there at No. 49, but 5-10, 225 (pounds), I’ll take that all day long.

“Even if it’s in the fifth round, even if it’s in the sixth round. There are running backs who are out there that run the ball extremely well in between the tackles, might not be a home run, but might be a guy who can move the chains. Find that guy.”

Third down

Franz: “I’d like to see them draft a North Carolina running back (between Williams and Michael Carter). Unlike you, I don’t care which one. I do rank one ahead of the other, but when you only have one-, two- and fifth-round picks to start, it’s hard to do that.”

Wolfley: “Draft an interior offensive lineman. I don’t care, again, where you get him. Maybe it is the second round. Maybe it’s in the fifth round …  (Wisconsin-Whitewater lineman) Quinn Meinerz is a guy I absolutely love. And I would be OK if you took pick 49 and said, ‘You know what, I love the kid.’

“I think he’s going to be all that and a bag of chips. You look at the Senior Bowl and his performance in the Senior Bowl against superior competition. Quinn Meinerz is a guy I love and would totally endorse if the Cardinals took him at 49.”

Fourth down

Franz: “I got too many ideas to throw out and I’ll sound like Mel Kiper Jr. here, but I would really like to find someone to be the next Corey Peters. Unsung, not a lot of people jumping up and down and he’s going to get a 10-year career, and five to six of it is plug in the middle for the Arizona Cardinals — and I’d like to find him in one of those picks (in the sixth and seventh) round(s).

“This is an area where Steve Keim has rarely done well and that is late in the draft. It’s not easy. I’m not saying fire him because he can’t find a sixth-round gem … (He needs to) find a defensive tackle gem late on Saturday.”

Wolfley: “That is my fourth down of four-down territory as well. You got to find that gem, find that diamond in the rough. This would be a good year to do it.”

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