Big Red
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
- 1,355
- 0
"Darren, in light of the trading of Mason Cole for a sixth-round draft pick, I have a question about late-round picks: do the Cardinals (or any other team for that matter) ever target a pick who would be considered a stud special-teamer first and a position player secondarily? I am referring to Justin Bethel prototypes, not kickers. The track record of successful sixth-rounders as position players seems not impossible but typically low odds. Why not draft a fast kamikaze? Seems like there are more and more examples of guys who make careers mostly on special teams as the league is giving more emphasis to "all three phases". Rather than drafting a "project" lineman, tight end or linebacker almost 200 players into the draft, identify the best potential special teamer. Thank you for this mailbag. Always look forward to it."
There are a couple layers to this. There is always an element to special teams, especially for later picks, that is factored into their scouting reports. No player is coming into the NFL thinking, "I'm only going to play special teams.' And you don't want to see a guy that way either. Dennis Gardeck got into the league strictly as an undrafted special teamer, but look what happened once he got the chance to play a little defense. Besides, you can find those guys, often undrafted (Gardeck, Trent Sherfield, Ezekiel Turner, Charles Washington) without spending a pick. Makes more sense to roll the dice and see if you can find position players with the draft.
From Allen The Cards Fan via azcardinals.com:
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