Arizona Cardinals - NFC West

Arizona Cardinals - NFC West, 2009 Draft Selections & Prospects

Arizona Cardinals

- 2009 NFL Draft Breakdown and Analysis
1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | 4th Round | 5th Round | 6th Rd | 7th Rd

- CFN 2009 Draft Central & Team-by-Team Picks and Analysis

#	Pick
31	31	1st Round  Chris Wells, RB Ohio State 6-1, 235 (Jr.) Based on pure talent, size, speed, and skills, Beanie’s the best back in the draft. However, he has major durability questions and despite showing good character and saying all the right things, there’s a question mark about how much he really wants to be a superstar. Is he going to be the run-through-a-brick-wall type like Knowshon Moreno? He’s such a rare talent that he’s worth all the risks. It’s not a stretch to say that from day one only Adrian Peterson will have the better combination of size and home run hitting ability. When Beanie’s on, he’ll barrel over everything in his path and will take over games. But when he’s not into the big game, he won’t fight for the hard yards and could disappear at times. The other problem is his blocking ability … there isn’t much. He has to be developed as a receiver and needs to prove he wants to hit someone, but if he doesn’t have to be a No. 1 back who carries the entire workload, he should be terrific. CFN Value Rank: First Round    CFN Position Rank: 2
31	63	2nd Round  Cody Brown, LB Connecticut  6-2, 245 While he’ll be considered for defensive end duty, he needs to be a regular linebacker. Ultra-tough, very aggressive and a big hitter, he’s a tone-setting player who’ll make several highlight reel plays when he gets a head of steam. However, he’s not an NFL pass rusher despite his quickness. Linebacker-sized, he plays much bigger with good strength and a long frame. Now he has to find a role and he has to settle in and become a consistent factor off the line. He might need a little work, but he’s a safe pick as long as he has a fire lit under him. CFN Value Rank: Third Round    CFN Position Rank: 7
31	95	3rd Round Rashad Johnson, FS Alabama 5-11, 195 A pure football player with uncanny instincts and tremendous smarts. He’s always around the ball seemingly knowing where it’s going before the offense does, and he always comes up with the big play when he has the shot. With good range and excellent ball skills, he’s great at picking off passes and coming up clutch when he has to. Size will be an issue. He’s skinny and is built more like a corner than an intimidating safety, and he’s not going to intimidate anyone with his tackling skills. If nothing else, he’ll be an elite special teamer and should put up great numbers in nickel and dime packages. CFN Value Rank: Second Round    CFN Position Rank: 2
31	131	4th Round Greg Toler, CB St. Paul’s 5-11, 190 A small-school reach, Toler has decent speed around the 4.45 range and good size. He dominated when the ball was in the air and fights to make plays. He needs a lot of work and needs to hit the weights hard, but he was great in post-season workouts and all-star practices making him a pet-project on the list for some teams. Nowhere near ready to start, he has the athleticism to be used on special teams while he refines his talent. CFN Value Rank: Fourth Round    CFN Position Rank: 19
31	167	5th Round Herman Johnson, OG LSU 6-7, 370 Massive, MASSIVE blocker who’ll have a hard time keeping his weight down. Huge since birth, he was the biggest baby ever born in the state of Louisiana. He’s not going to do anything on the move and he can’t play in a zone blocking scheme or a West Coast attack. He needs to line up, pound away for a power running game, and do it again. He’s not going to be much of a pass blocker and he’s not going to have major issues with his conditioning, but he’ll power away for some hard yards. CFN Value Rank: Third Round    CFN Position Rank: 4
31	204	6th Round Will Davis, DE Illinois  6-2, 260 Very quick for his size, he played out of position at times working at tackle and was fine. Not quite tough enough against the run, he’s far better suited to the outside with a good motor and a nice burst into the backfield. While he had problems last year playing up to his potential, it was partly due to an ankle injury that just never went away. There’s a lot to be interested in considering he might be scratching the surface on what he can become, and he’ll put in the work to be better. He’ll need to be in the right system and he’ll have to play on the end. Some will want to put him at linebacker, but that won’t work. CFN Value Rank: Fourth Round    CFN Position Rank: 13
45	254	7th Round Trevor Canfield, OG Cincinnati 6-4, 305 Limited, he needs to be in the right offense, likely a zone blocking scheme, to end up seeing any time. He slimmed down over to fit the Cincinnati attack and was fine until he had to go against the top-shelf talent. He’ll be at his best when he bulks back up a little bit and can play with more power, but he needs to get stronger and he’s not enough of an athlete to handle the quicker interior pass rushers. CFN Value Rank: Free Agent    CFN Position Rank: 20
31	240	7th Round LaRod Stephens-Howling RB Pitt 5-7, 180 A speed back and a change-of-pace back, he'll never be an every down runner and he can't be counted on for more than emergency service, but he could be a third down playmaker and he could find a role as a kick returner. He'll have to shine early on in camp and he'll have to prove he has dependable hands to become a factor. CFN Value Rank: Free Agent    CFN Position Rank: NR

2008

The Draft Was ... Good for anyone else, but not safe enough for Arizona. Had New England or Indianapolis come up with this haul it would've been hailed as excellent because of the upside. These types of drafts, with projects like DE Calais Campbell and DE Ken Iwebema and CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie never seem to work for the Cardinals.
Best Value Pick: Calais Campbell, DE Miami. 2nd round. He likely would've been a top 20 pick last year on potential alone, and he certainly would've been a first rounder next year. Getting him at the 50 is a steal.
Biggest Reach: Tim Hightower, RB Richmond. 5th round. Everyone's looking for the next Marion Barber, but while Hightower is a strong, big runner, he's a special teamer.
They Should've ... Gone after a better running back earlier or a linebacker in the fifth round. Getting Geno Hayes, Marcus Howard, or Larry Grant would've helped the linebacking corps more than Hightower will help the running game.

#	Pick
16	16	1st Round    Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB Tennessee State The high riser of the corners after the Combine, Rodgers-Cromartie blazed off a 4.34 40. At 6-1 and 184 pounds he has great sized to go along with that phenomenal speed and athleticism, and he's great at going after the ball and making something happen when he gets his hands on it. While he didn't see a high level of competition at Tennessee State, he looked like he could've been from LSU or Ohio State with the way he matched up against top receivers at the Senior Bowl. He needs to get stronger and he needs to be willing to become a better tacklers, but he has everything else you'd want in a No. 1 corner. CFN Value Rank: First Round     CFN Position Rank: 1

19

50

2nd Round      Calais Campbell, DE Miami Potentially the boom or bust pick in the draft, Campbell has freakish size at close to 6-8 and 290 pounds. While he's not fast, he's a good athlete who has functional football speed with the ability to chase down ball-carriers. Ultra-productive, did it all his sophomore year with a whopping 84 tackles and 20.5 tackles for loss, and while his numbers dipped a bit last year, he still had a nice season. However, he's raw. He disappeared at times against the better tackles and he has to learn how to play like the biggest, baddest end around. Don't expect a Pro Bowl rookie season, but by year three he could end up being the best defensive lineman in this draft. CFN Value Rank: Late First Round to Early Second Round    CFN Position Rank: 5

18

81

3rd Round  Early Doucet, WR LSU Before his senior season he was considered to be in the running for the honor of being the top receiver taken in the draft. While he was fine, he didn't take the next step up needed to show he could be a major NFL producer. While he's compact and strong, and he's not afraid to block or do the dirty work, he's not a deep threat and will disappear for long stretches at the next level. He'll never be a prime target and he can't change anyone's passing game by himself, but he could be a whale of an inside possession receiver if used correctly. He's the type of unselfish receiver you want to have as a No. 3, but he lacks the superstar streak the truly great ones possess. CFN Value Rank: Mid-Second to Third Round    CFN Position Rank: 11

17

116

4th Round  Ken Iwebema, DE Iowa Iwebema was on the fast track to becoming an All-American and a top pro prospect after a promising sophomore season, but he got hurt and never lived up to his potential. While he has decent size at 6-4 and 274 pounds, he doesn't have an NFL burst and he didn't progress enough as a sacker to offer much hope that he'll grow into one as a pro. He's strong and he'll do a lot of things that don't show up on a stat sheet, but he has work to do to become a regular starter. CFN Value Rank: Third Round    CFN Position Rank: 11

14

149

5th Round   Timothy Hightower, RB Richmond At six-feet and 225 pounds with a good combination of power and quickness, he can pound inside and can bounce to the outside equally well. A good receiver, he could be used in a variety of ways. However, even though he has decent measurables, he's not an NFL athlete and never did anything special. He'll have to be a special teamer to make it. CFN Value Rank: Free Agent      CFN Position Rank: NR

19

185

6th Round   Chris Harrington, DE Texas A&M A baller. Tough against the run, productive throughout his Aggie career, and a strong all-around player, Harrington was a good leader who always has his motor running and is always going to give 100%. He simply doesn't have NFL pass rushing skills and is too small to be worked into a tackle. He'll work his way on to a roster, but he's not going to be a regular starter.   CFN Value Rank: Sixth Round  CFN Position Rank: 13

18

225

7th Round    Brandon Keith, OT/OG Northern Iowa A long and rocky college career, including a short stint at Oklahoma, ended at UNI where he became dominant on an elite FCS team. At 6-5 and 343 pounds, he could become a guard and has more overall talent and was more productive than fellow Panther tackle, Chad Rinehart. He'll likely be a versatile backup able to play almost anywhere in a pinch. CFN Value Rank: Sixth Round   CFN Position Rank: 19