Five draftees Arizona Cardinals should avoid early on

The Arizona Cardinals have their highest draft pick since 2013 so the organization must do everything they can to strike gold

The Arizona Cardinals need to get this one right. General manager Steve Keim has stated that Arizona will be selecting the best available player with the 13th overall pick of the NFL Draft. But even picking that high doesn’t guarantee the club will walk away with a successful contributor.

This article looks at five prospects entering the league who the Cards need to avoid early on in Thursday night’s proceedings. All five have been projected to go somewhere in round one of the draft.

Texas Tech’s Pat Mahomes certainly has the tools needed to succeed as a professional quarterback. Excellent arm strength, a quick release, accuracy and mobility are included in his game. Mahomes even possesses athletic genes. His father, Pat Sr., played Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2003.

Despite all the positives, Mahomes is as raw as uncooked meat. While he’s farther along than say, Logan Thomas, he will enter the NFL as a project. It would be hard for Keim to justify taking someone with such question marks at #13.

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When the news was leaked that Alabama’s Reuben Foster had submitted a diluted urine sample at the NFL Combine, eyebrows were raised. But talk of the inside linebacker potentially falling in the draft has already gone by the wayside. Organizations are fickle, especially when it comes to supreme talents like Foster.

Even so, the initial red flags raised by front offices when they first learned of Foster’s indiscretions were warranted. His not being able to stay clean during such an important time in his life, especially knowing he’d be tested, is alarming. Foster is young and anyone can make a mistake, but can he truly be trusted to avoid suspensions throughout his career?

Ohio State’s Marshon Lattimore is the consensus number-one ranked cornerback prospect. It’s no secret that the Cards need a starting cover guy to pair with Patrick Peterson. Although top-ranked, Lattimore is also not a sure thing.

As far back as high school, Lattimore’s hamstrings have been an issue. He was forced to redshirt in 2014 after having his left hamstring operated on, and then missed games in 2015 when he hurt the right one. A cornerback’s legs are his lifeline, so chronic hamstring troubles could make the Cardinals think twice about his future health.

DeShone Kizer may be the most NFL-ready of all the top signal-callers. The Notre Dame product has excellent size (6’4″, 230), a great arm and athleticism to boot. Sounds good Arizona fans, right?

Recent reports by anonymous sources have questioned Kizer’s dedication to football. He’s said to be more interested in the fame that comes with being an NFL quarterback, a prima donna if you will. Obviously not what a club is looking for in one of their most important team leaders.

The University of Washington’s John Ross ran the fastest 40-yard dash ever recorded at the Combine. We all are aware of head coach Bruce Arians’ love for speedy wideouts.

But the Cardinals already have that type with John Brown and J.J Nelson. With Larry Fitzgerald getting prepared to retire, the club would be much better off drafting one with some size. Even with Ross being the top-ranked receiver in certain circles, at 5’10”, 190 he really doesn’t offer the squad what they’re missing.

If any of the five draftees mentioned in this article fell to the Cards in the second round (at #45), selecting them would be a no-brainer. But bringing any of them on board in the first round could be a mistake.

One thing’s for sure. Thursday night can’t come fast enough.

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