The Arizona Cardinals selected 21-year old RB Ryan Williams out of Virginia  Tech with the 38th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Williams is on the small side at 5’10″, 205 pounds but he runs a 4.45 40.  Williams is a potential main back for an offense as he is good catching the ball and he’s a very solid runner.  Williams played in 10 games (5 starts) for Virginia Tech last year and he carried the ball 110 times for 477 yards (4.3 ypc) with 9 TD runs.  He also caught 10 passes for 109 yards (10.9 avg) last season with 1 TD grab.  Williams has played in 23 games (18 starts) in his two years with the Hokies and he carried the ball 403 times for 2,132 yards (5.3 ypc) with 30 TD runs.  He also caught 26 passes for 289 yards (11.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs with Virginia Tech.  This was a good pick for the Cardinals as Williams could bump Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells down the depth chart as early as 2011.

The Arizona Cardinals selected 21-year old cornerback Patrick Peterson with the fifth overall pick of the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Peterson is a 6’0″, 200 pound stud who also runs a 4.45 40.  Peterson played in 13 games (all starts) for LSU last year and he had 42 tackles, broke up 6 passes and he had 4 interceptions (134 return yards).  He also is an electric return man as Peterson returned 32 kickoffs for 932 yards (29.1 avg) and 26 punts for 418 yards (16.1 avg) with 2 TD returns.  Peterson played in 39 games (30 starts) in his three years with LSU and he had 135 tackles, broke up 22 passes, 7 interceptions (171 return yards), forced 1 fumble and he recovered 1 fumble.  Peterson was an outstanding pick for the Cardinals as he is going to be a difference maker from Day #1 as he is both a good run and pass defender.

The Arizona Cardinals are going to try to reload at linebacker next weekend but they might shock the experts in the first round.  Here is who I see the Cardinals picking in my mock draft:

1st round (#5 overall) – Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri

2nd round (#38 overall) – Brooks Reed, OLB, Arizona

3rd round (#69 overall) – Quan Sturdivant, ILB, North Carolina

4th round (#103 overall) – Greg Jones, ILB, Michigan State

5th round (#136 overall) – Ryan Winterswyk, DE, Boise State

6th round (#171 overall) – Jabara Williams, OLB, Stephen F. Austin

6th round (#184 overall) – Scott Lutrus, OLB, Connecticut

7th round (#249 overall) – Ryan Donahue, P, Iowa

The Cardinals would get their QB of the future (Gabbert), a lot of new LBs and a starting punter (Donahue).  I would have to say that this would be a nice haul for the Cardinals.

The Arizona Cardinals got caught picking for need and the results were mixed last April.  Here’s a look back at how the rookies did in 2010:

Dan Williams – The Cardinals used the #26 overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft on NT Dan Williams out of Tennessee.  Williams played in 15 games for the Cardinals last year and he had 38 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  The Cardinals need Williams to step up in 2011 or they are going to have to limit his P.T. because he wasn’t much of a playmaker in 2010.

Daryl Washington – The Cardinals picked inside linebacker Daryl Washington in the 2nd round (#47 overall) out of TCU.  Washington played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he had 78 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed, 1 interception and he forced 1 fumble.  If Washington can add more weight, he could really be a key to the Cardinals’ future on D.

Andre Roberts – The Cardinals picked WR Andre Roberts in the third round (#88 overall) out of the Citadel.  Roberts played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he caught 24 passes for 307 yards (12.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Roberts also returned 14 kickoffs for 326 yards (23.3 avg) and 35 punts for 263 yards (7.5 avg) last year.  I think Roberts is going to have a much bigger role going forward in 2011 and beyond for the Cardinals.

O’Brien Schofield -  OLB O’Brien Schofield was picked in the 4th round (#130 overall) out of Wisconsin last April.  He played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he had 12 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  Schofield was playing with a bum knee last year and the Cardinals are very excited about him if he can get and stay healthy.

John Skelton – The Cardinals used the #155 overall pick (5th round) on QB John Skelton out of Fordham.  Skelton played in 5 games (4 starts) for the Cardinals at the end of last year and he completed 60 of 126 passes (47.6%) for 662 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (62.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards (4.9 ypc) last year.  Skelton looks like he might be able to be developed into a starting NFL QB down the road, but it’s going to take some time.

Jorrick Colvin – The Cardinals dealt CB Jorrick Colvin to the Eagles before last season started for RB Charles Scott who was a sixth round pick out of LSU.  Scott didn’t get into any games for the Cardinals last year.  Colvin on the other hand played in 12 games for the Eagles and he had 1 tackle.  Colvin also returned 32 kickoffs for 692 yards (21.6 avg) and 12 punts for 125 yards (10.4 avg) last year.  The Cardinals made a bad deal with the Eagles.

Jim Dray – The Cardinals used the #233 overall pick (7th round) on TE  Jim Dray out of Stanford.  Dray played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he caught 3 passes for 47 yards (15.7 avg).  The Cardinals are weak at TE, so Dray might have a future with them if he can improve.

GRADE FOR THE 2010 SEASON:  C-

GRADE FOR  THE FUTURE:  B-

The Arizona Cardinals are likely going to start 22-year old rookie QB John Skelton against the Broncos this weekend.  Skelton, a 5th round pick out of Fordham, made his NFL debut last weekend when he completed 3 of 6 passes (50%) for 45 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (75.0 QB Rating).  With the injury to Hall and the utter disaster named Derek Anderson, it makes sense to give Skelton a shot to see what the Cardinals have in him.  With a home game against the Broncos and a road game against the Panthers coming up, Skelton will at least get a chance to break in against some teams on the Cardinals’ level.  Hopefully they decide to run the ball a bit more to help protect the rookie.

The Cardinals were ecstatic to see linebacker Daryl Washington slide to them in the 2nd round.  They nabbed him with the idea of starting him right away.  He has played in 10 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has 52 tackles, 1 sack and 2 tackles for a loss.  While Washington in fifth on the Cardinals in tackles they need him to start making more big plays.  That being said he appears to have a bright future with the team going forward.

The Cardinals picked TE Jim Dray out of Stanford with the 233rd pick overall (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Dray 6’4″, 247 pounds and he runs a 4.9 40.  He is more of a blocker than a pass catcher but he is a good red zone target.  He played in 11 games for Stanford last season catching 11 passes for 149 yards (13.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Dray played in 36 games in his four years at Stanford in which he caught 41 passes for 455 yards (11.1 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Dray doesn’t have a huge upside but if he stays healthy he can really help the Cardinals especially pass blocking where he is very effective.

The Cardinals have picked CB Jorrick Calvin out of Troy with the 201st pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Calvin is a small guy at 5’10″, 184 pounds and he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer.  He was academically inelgible last season.  He doesn’t have much of a track record as he only played one year in college.  He had 62 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 2 interceptions in 2008 for Troy.  He also returned 22 punts for 149 yards (6.8 avg) and 27 kickoff returns for 693 yards (25.7 avg) with 1 TD return in 2008.  The Cardinals hope that Calvin is smart enough to pick up the playbook and help them in the secondary and on special teams down the road.

The Cardinals have picked QB John Skelton out of Fordham with the 155th pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  He is a big guy at 6’5″, 244 pounds and he’s got good mobility despite not being especially fast running a 4.9 40.  Skelton is a gamer with a good throwing arm.  Many scouts have compared him to Joe Flacco of the Ravens as they both played for really small schools but were standouts there.  Skelton played in 11 games (all starts) for Fordham last season and he completed 284 of 441 passes (64.4%) for 3,708 yards with 26 TD passes and 10 INTs.  He has played in 43 games (41 starts) in his four years at Fordham in which he completed 802 of 1,363 passes (58.8%) for 9,923 yards with 69 TD passes and 36 interceptions.  The Cardinals would like to bring Skelton along slowly but that will depend on how well Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson play ahead of him on the depth chart.

The Cardinals have picked OLB O’Brien Schofield out of Wisconsin with the 130th pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Is a great athlete when he’s healthy as he runs a 4.6 40 despite being 6’2″, 238 pounds.  He tore ligaments in his left knee at practices for the Senior Bowl so he might not be ready to start the season for the Cardinals.  He played in 13 games (all starts) at Wisconsin last season and he had 62 tackles, 24.5 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks, 1 batted down pass, he forced 3 fumbles and he recovered a fumble.  In his four years with the Badgers, Schofield played in 44 games (26 starts) in which he had 110 tackles, 33 tackles for a loss, 17 sacks, he batted down 2 passes, forced 4 fumbles and he recovered a fumble.  Schofield has a huge upside and this was a pick for the future for the Cardinals as he won’t likely be able to help them much in 2010 because of his knee.