Arizona Cardinals need to find balance in offseason
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals need plenty of help at a number of positions
It’s likely the Arizona Cardinals have a plan to attack free agency and the NFL Draft. They are going to need to upgrade or add depth at a number of positions.
They will add from both, just like most teams. However for the Cardinals it’s a fine line which positions to target in free agency and then which ones in the draft.
For example, the Cardinals may be better suited to draft an offensive lineman rather than find a grizzly old veteran. The Cardinals have been sort of a hit and miss team with free agent offensive linemen.
They hit with Mike Iupati but couldn’t with Max Garcia. At receiver, the Cardinals have shown they can do alright at both but last year found Andy Isabella and KeeSean Johnson. Neither blew us away in the regular season but they are still here and Kevin White and Michael Crabtree are not.
They could go either way on the defensive line. There are a number of good options available in both free agency and the draft. Take Chris Jones from the Kansas City Chiefs for example. He would be an excellent free agency pickup.
There are options for both when it comes to the defensive secondary. However looking at what could be available, the draft may be the way to go.
The best free agents are Byron Jones from Dallas, Logan Ryan from Tennessee and Chris Harris from Denver. Don’t even think about someone like Josh Norman.
There are some good linebackers in free agency. Guys like Kyle Van Noy from the Patriots and Bud Dupree from the Steelers. This isn’t to say the Cardinals can afford guys like this, just pointing out there are some decent options.
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Hopefully the Cardinals can find the right balance to plug the holes necessary to continue to improve. It will be important to make the right moves in both free agency and the draft this season, they can’t afford any misses.