2009 NFL Draft two years out: Arizona Cardinals

In the past I have given the 2009 Arizona Cardinals draft class pretty high marks, and stated that it may take a little time for this draft class to fully bloom. Two years out the ultimate success of this class seems to be coming into focus a bit. Since they picked 31st two years ago, and will pick 5th in 2011 some of this draft class shine will be wiped away.

First a quick look at the 2009 Cardinals draft class:

•Round One (31)- Beanie Wells RB
•Round Two (63)- Cody Johnson LB
•Round Three (95)- Rashad Johnson S
•Round Four (131)- Greg Toler DB
•Round Five (167)- Herman Johnson OG
•Round Six (204)- Will Davis LB
•Round Seven (240)- LaRod Stephens-Howling
•Round Seven (254)- Trevor Canfield OG

In my mind Beanie Well has been something of a disappointment, and pretty undependable. Granted he know plays on a bad team with QB issues so that may be limiting his effectiveness. Cody Johnson hurt his wrist in the pre season and has been cut. Rashad Johnson has produced little but still has some up side. Greg Toler on the other hand had an outstanding 2010 and racked up 82 tackles. Herman Johnson is now a Chicago Bear. Will Davis has done next to nothing, while LaRod Stephens -Howling remains a big part of the running game. Trevor Canfield is not a member of the Detroit Lions.

So I see a lot of misses here, and I see a team using picks on the LB spot that remains an issue to this day. They did land Wells and he may rebound and as this team improves and save this class to a certain extent. However overall this looks to be a very weak class, and at least part of the reason why the Cardinals will pick 5th in the 2011 NFL Draft.