Knowing that the rookies have already been dissected about 100 times, I thought i'd throw in my take, of course from the fans perspective. We will just go down the line of the Cardinals draft selections and then show the faces of the 15 undrafted rookies (whether they are still on the team or not, because they may end up on the practice squad.)
Deone Bucannon IS an Adrian Wilson replica. Even though he's having a hard time at the camps right now this professional will deliver punishing hits and make game changing plays all day long. Expect him to be a day 1 starter or to fill in for Mathieu while he is rehabbing his knee.
Troy Niklas is another large, mostly blocking tight end from Notre Dame. We all know Arians loves his two tight end sets and with the addition of John Carlson and the re-signing of Jake Ballard, Niklas adds some depth to the ranks alongside Rob Housler. The good thing about Niklas is that he is nowhere near his ceiling. He played as an offensive lineman in high school and a lineman in his freshman year in college. The depth of the TE position gives him a great chance to improve his skills and eventually polish into the next Tony Gonzalez.
Kareem Martin immediately adds depth to an already great front four. Posting an impressive 4.72 40 time he will be able to keep up with most rushers and be able to blow past slow lineman to get to the QB. in 2013 for the Tarheels he had 11.5 sacks and 82 tackles However while his speed is good he can be easily beaten in the open field by the more mobile quarterbacks and edge rushers in the NFL. The player he most reminds me of is Justin Tuck and will get the same extreme motivation out of Martin that Tuck showed when he was picked.
John Brown is the speedster that Bruce Arians was searching for last year. This multi-faceted player can reach to any part of the field with his 4.30 speed, he can play return man, gunner or just straight up burner as a receiver. He tracks the ball well and has great hands. Brown has impressed everyone at the Cardinals camps this summer but will have to overcome his small size and inability to push through tackles to really make it in the NFL. I expect him to challenge Ted Ginn Jr for the slot position but for now he will be #4 on the depth chart.
Everyone knew the Cardinals would take a QB, but which one? Logan Thomas comes into probably the most ideal position any late round QB can dream of. He gets to work with Carson Palmer and some of the best coaches in the NFL to help him develop into a star. Thomas has an extremely powerful arm and is the dual threat that most teams look for nowadays. While a powerful arm is good, Thomas' accuracy is a problem and that boils down to his decision making and mechanics. Thankfully he has a year or two to work on both of those. I fully expect Thomas to overtake Lindley as the #3 QB on the depth chart and eventually become the starter around 2016.
Ed Stinson is a run stopper. That is his resume, although he can occasionally stop speed backs and walk his lineman back to the QB I don't expect many sacks out of him. Stinson will be a very important cog in the defensive line rotation, giving Campbell and Dockett well deserved rests. While he may not be the quickest to absorb the playbook or have the greatest on field knowledge he make sup with his brute strength and incredible endurance. Expect to watch him make the most of his limited on field time and drive through ball carriers to make impact tackles.
While not the speedster that John Brown is, Walter Powell is still up there, he is a natural returner and if he makes the team he will be an impact special teams player. Aside from his return abilities he is your average receiver and will be hard pressed to find a roster sport behind Brown and Ginn.
Who do you think will be the biggest impact rookie? let me know in the comments!
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