The Arizona Cardinals head coach spoke out on Wednesday about several topics including the upcoming draft
The Arizona Cardinals did well for themselves in free agency. They did a good job of adding depth at several positions and adding the best offensive lineman available. Now as they prepare for the NFL Draft on April 30-May 2, head coach Bruce Arians says this draft may be more about filling needs than taking the best player available.
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Arians said on Wednesday that the Cardinals need to find speed. Not only find speed but find it at many positions. He said running back, receiver, cornerback, and linebacker. Arians said he thinks there are 15 really good running backs in the draft.
While he couldn’t and didn’t speak about a specific player on Wednesday, he did make mention the Cardinals might take a back later in the draft, maybe around the fourth or fifth rounds. To me I think that’s just a smoke screen. If the Cardinals are truly not going to get Adrian Peterson, I think the Cardinals seriously consider grabbing Melvin Gordon or Todd Gurley early in the draft.
The one position Arians said he thought the team was set at was tight end. He did say he would like to add a fullback-type tight end though. He also would love to add a cornerback in the draft. He spoke briefly about the loss of Antonio Cromartie and in so many words he didn’t seem all too happy about it.
It is interesting he did mention wide receiver as well. He wants to add speed there. John Brown and Michael Floyd have speed but Floyd has been inconsistent and Brown is still learning. The other two top receivers are of course Larry Fitzgerald, who has some speed but clearly has lost a step, and Jaron Brown. He hasn’t been totally reliable.
I like the fact Arians wants to draft for need and not the best available. The other day I mentioned that teams many times prefer to draft the best available rather than for need but it might be in the Cardinals best interest to look at needs. Arians confirmed that is the thinking right now.
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