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We move today from the St. Louis Rams to the Arizona Cardinals, taking a look at their draft haul and how well they addressed some needs.
First, let's take a look at the draft picks that the Cardinals made and what players they added to their roster:
24. D.J. Humphries, OT, Florida (Round 1)
58. Markus Golden, DE/OLB, Missouri (Round 2)
86. David Johnson, RB, Northern Iowa (Round 3)
116. Rodney Gunter, DE/DT, Delaware State (Round 4)
158. Shaquille Riddick, DE/OLB, West Virginia (Round 5)
159. J.J. Nelson, WR, UAB (Round 5)
256. Gerald Christian, TE, Louisville (Round 7)
On the offensive side of the ball, the Cardinals ran into a lot of trouble last season due to the fact that they were not able to keep their QB or their RB healthy. RB Andre Ellington was an especially tough loss because he is looking like a talented player. Pairing him with a change of pace RB who can take some snaps off of his hand would go a long way for his health, and for the Cardinals. Drafting Johnson in the third round looks like a great pick for the Cardinals.
Additionally, keeping Carson Palmer on his feet is a must since he seems to have gotten decently fragile with age. First-rounder D.J. Humphries is the type of player who can help anchor an offensive line alongside some help. It sounds like he will compete with Bobby Massie for the RT spot. Throw in the fact that the Cardinals have Mike Iupati coming in to play G for them, and it's looking like their o-line could be a real strength heading into the coming season. The Cardinals also signed A.Q. Shipley to play C.
On the defensive side of the ball, I thought that the Cardinals big weakness was their pass rush. The Cardinals did sign LaMarr Woodley pretty early on as a possible source of help. Look also for Golden and Gunter to help out as role players, at least. They might not be starters come week one of the season, but they could certainly be helpful additions to the defense.
One area that I'm surprised the Cardinals didn't address is the secondary. They need to replace Antonio Cromartie's spot, and S Rashad Johnson could use the competition (or the Cardinals could just replace him with a better player). It appears that the Cardinals are pretty happy with the players they have in place in the secondary.