Cardinals
Former Cardinals HC Bruce Arians said recently that the one quarterback prospect that really intrigues him is Louisville’s Lamar Jackson.
“That’s one guy I really am intrigued with because he can spin it and he’s been in a pro-style offense and he’s been hard coached by Bobby (Petrino),” Arians said, via AzCentral.com. “He brings that unique skill-set, and it makes me look back at Vince Young. Vince could beat you and he was a heck of a leader. I don’t know why it didn’t work out for him, but listening to him now, telling his story, he’s like, ‘I didn’t put the time in.’
“I think Lamar puts the time in. He’s going to get better, and he just brings that unique ability to break the game open with his legs.”
Arians added that he believes the Cardinals should take Jackson at No. 15 overall if he falls to them.
“Because he does it. He sits in there and flips it up the field,” Arians said. “He’s been in a pro-style offense. He’s more of a scrambler with designed runs. I don’t think I’d design runs for him. I would just let him, a la Russell Wilson, take what’s there, and whoosh, take off running.”
Giants
- Jordan Raanan says that the Giants are going to want a “major haul” for the No. 2 overall pick that will include multiple first-round picks and more.
- With this in mind, Raanan mentions that it’s going to be difficult for anyone to meet their demands.
- Another factor that could work against the Giants getting the kind of return they would want for No. 2 overall is the fact that the Broncos and Colts have been talking to teams about trading back for more picks, according to Raanan.
Lions
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes that UTSA DE Marcus Davenport could be someone worth keeping an eye on for the Lions in round one.
Detroit hired Davenport’s DL coach Bo Davis this offseason, so there’s an obvious connection there and the Lions could use some pass-rush help.
However, Mike Mayock isn’t so sure he would be the best fit for the Lions’ defensive scheme under new HC Matt Patricia.
“I’m a Marcus Davenport guy,” Mayock said Friday. “I really like him. I think the underlying understanding here has to be that he’s very raw and is going to take a little bit of time. So even in a simple system where you line him up wide and teach him how to rush the quarterback, he’s got a lot to learn. The further you get away from that — and by the way, he’s a very smart kid. I’m not taking any shots at him at all. I’m just saying he’s as raw as can be.
“The further you get away from a simple system, where you’re asking him to do multiple jobs — whether it’s rush and then the next snap you’re dropping and you’ve got speed gap. The more you’re asking him to do, the longer it’s going to take him to develop. So in a Matt Patricia system, which is very complicated, I think it’s going to take him a long time. So to answer your question in a vacuum, he’s better off in a simple system where he can just line up and go as opposed to being asked to do multiple tasks.”
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