If Available, Arizona Cardinals Should Draft Da'Quan Bowers In 2nd Rd Of NFL Draft

by Jess Root on Apr 29, 2011 7:00 AM MDT in NFL Draft/Combine

In Thursday's first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the player whose draft stock fell the furthest was Clemson DE Da'Quan Bowers. He has been projected as high as going number one overall. However, concerns about his knee being able to hold up for more than a couple of years has caused his stock to plummet. He was not drafted in he first round at all.

Mel Kiper, even now, has him rated as the sixth best prospect in the entire draft, calling him "perhaps the draft's most gifted pass-rusher."

The Arizona Cardinals have a draft choice near the top of the second round. They have a great need for a pass rusher. If Bowers is still available, he should be the guy the Cardinals pick.

First of all, the kid is flat out talented. He had 15.5 sacks last season. There may not be a better player at getting to the quarterback and that is exactly what the Cardinals need. With a threat of a pass rush, the potentially deadly secondary the Cards have could turn the defensive squad into juggernauts.

Are there knee concerns? Yes, but not for playing this year. The knee is set. He will be able to play in 2011. The question is more of the question the Phoenix Suns had with Amare Stoudemire and why they were unwilling to sign him to a five-year deal after he had already played a couple of seasons on knees that will likely need another surgery.

The question with Bowers is how long he will be able to play in the NFL. This is why he was not taken in the first round. First round players get a lot of money. Having seen players like Andre Wadsworth perform far less than their potential because of injuries is hard and can be very bad for a franchise. You don't want to pay a guy tens of millions of dollars to not play.

This is where there is the beauty of it all. Now that he is out of the first round, the risk is far less. If you can get three to four very good years out of a second round pick, you have done your job. That is about as long as anyone can expect to play football at a high level, anyway.

So, I don't care about the injury concerns long-term. The fact is that his knee is sound and it is healthy. They won't have to pay him big-time money and he's the best at what he does.

If he is still there at number 38, in my mind, there is no question what the Cardinals should do with that pick. They should make Bowers a Redbird to terrorize Sam Bradford and whatever other QBs there happen to be in the NFC West in 2011.

Poll

Do you think the Cards should take Bowers if he is available at #38?

Yes

207 votes

No

95 votes

302 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Bowers

Drafting simply doesn’t make sense unless the organization thinks they can’t retain CC after next season (assuming the new CBA won’t keep him a RFA for longer). Bowers might be a hell of a DE one day but for right now we’re pretty damn solid at the position and there are significant needs on this roster that can be addressed with this pick. My two cents…..

by Steamin' Beamin' on Apr 29, 2011 8:17 AM MDT reply actions

Re: Bowers

The thinking is they would probably turn him into an OLB to play alongside O’Brien Schofield and whoever else they have to play that position when the dust settles. That is often the fate of college DEs who get drafted by teams that play a 3-4.

If that’s what happens, the Cards could do worse than to have Bowers, Daryl Washington, Paris Lenon/Gerald Hayes, and Schofield as a linebacking corps. Schofield is easy to forget over there but remember he wasn’t even expected to play last year due to a college knee injury, and in two games with serious play time racked up 2 sacks and a forced fumble.

Actually, the whole defense would be scary in its potential:

D-Line: Campbell, Dan Williams, Dockett
LBs: Bowers, Washington, Lenon, Schofield
Secondary: Patrick Peterson, DRC, A-Dub, Kerry Rhodes

Give me a decent QB and maybe an O-line upgrade and this will be something to watch next season.

by abenz on Apr 29, 2011 8:39 AM MDT up reply actions

Bowers would be a massive 3-4 OLB

He’d have to drop 20 pounds at least and he’d be a total liability dropping into coverage. He could probably handle himself rushing the passer but he’d be a one dimensional OLB, and playing on the outside would put some added stress on that gimpy knee.

by Steamin' Beamin' on Apr 29, 2011 8:49 AM MDT reply actions 1 recs

obviously didn't hit reply button

by Steamin' Beamin' on Apr 29, 2011 8:50 AM MDT up reply actions

No problem

I’ll just keep the thread going down here :)

Should’ve looked at his weight before I hit that post – he’s 280 and you would like to see 250-260 so that’s a good point. So it raises an interesting dilemma because I really don’t see the Cardinals drafting for the D-line this high. They have good young players there. It probably makes Bowers less attractive unless there is high confidence they can transition him to the area of the defense that needs more help.

by abenz on Apr 29, 2011 9:07 AM MDT up reply actions

it will be interesting to see how far he falls and I'd bet he's there when we go back on the clock

The teams ahead of us (NE, BUF, CIN, DEN, CLE) are all 3-4 teams so we’ll have to see if any of those teams think he’s worth a pick as a 3-4 DE. That transition would probably be easier for him than moving to OLB.

It could also be a pretty good time to be working the phones to see if a 4-3 team might be willing to trade up.

by Steamin' Beamin' on Apr 29, 2011 9:40 AM MDT up reply actions

We will see

No matter what happens, if the Cards can pencil in an above average or better player into that other OLB spot, I stand by my point that this defense has scary potential. Horton has to be ecstatic at the secondary he is going to get to play with.

Now, where’s my QB?

by abenz on Apr 29, 2011 9:48 AM MDT up reply actions

check that, DEN is switching back to a 4-3

Charley Casserly just did a second round mock on NFLN and he had Bowers going to CLE right before our pick and then had us picking Ayers.

by Steamin' Beamin' on Apr 29, 2011 10:09 AM MDT up reply actions

OLB

Bowere, Brooks Reed, and Akeem Ayers may all be options. This worked out well for the
Cards

by emm7777 on Apr 29, 2011 8:58 AM MDT reply actions

HE is the best pass rusher available

Other than qb..its the most important position on the field. I don’t care that we have DD and CC…you can never have enough quality pass rushers.
3/4…4/3…is just an I irrelevant label. DD was effective as a D tackle.

No more night. I have seen the light. Let it shine on bright.
HANG HIM HIGHER!!!

by Cuckoo for Coco Puffs on Apr 29, 2011 9:15 AM MDT via mobile reply actions

3/4…4/3…is just an I irrelevant label

What does that even mean? They are completely different schemes that require different types of players. Some players are capable of playing and thriving in both systems, but that doesn’t mean that a pass rusher in a 4-3 is an equally effective pass rusher in a 3-4.

Also look at it this way, if you draft Bowers and he takes CC’s starting spot in the lineup, how big of an upgrade is that? CC has averaged 6.5 sacks a season during his two seasons as a starter and that’s a well above average total for a 3-4 DE. Is Bowers capable of providing more than that, maybe but no 3-4 DE is going to average double digit sacks on a regular basis. If you want to upgrade the pass rush, look to the OLB spot. Last year our two starting OLB’s combined for 10 sacks. An above average starter at OLB should easily top double digit sacks each and every year. That’s where the upgrade needs to come from.

by Steamin' Beamin' on Apr 29, 2011 9:27 AM MDT up reply actions

Not that irrelevant

You need different players to be successful in different schemes. Whether 4-3 or 3-4 is a superior scheme will be an eternal debate, but the fact is that many players who project as 4-3 DEs are too small to play end on a 3-4 line. With only 3 down linemen, it’s all about eating space. That doesn’t always stop you – DD is undersized for a 3-4 end and has proven to be a very good player, but it has to be a consideration.

Now, Bowers is such a highly rated talented (other than the injury concern) that maybe having him fall into your lap in the 2nd round is a great pick regardless of the scheme. But as Steamin’ Beamin’ and were going on up above about, you need to be confident you can fit him in or the talent goes to waste.

by abenz on Apr 29, 2011 9:32 AM MDT up reply actions

My point was

That Using Bowersaa DE along with DD. CC. and Williams will provide a passrush that we haven’t had since ‘08 (Superbowl).
Using him as a passrusher. Wether you label him as aDE orLB doesn’t matter if he’s rushing. I wasnt suggesting he could be a cover OLB.

No more night. I have seen the light. Let it shine on bright.
HANG HIM HIGHER!!!

by Cuckoo for Coco Puffs on Apr 29, 2011 10:02 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions

Are you inventing a new defense that uses 3 DE's?

by Steamin' Beamin' on Apr 29, 2011 10:07 AM MDT up reply actions

I wanna see how that would work, haha

by AlaskanCard on Apr 29, 2011 10:52 AM MDT up reply actions

depth isnt at all a bad thing...

Keep in mind that not all players play every down, and injuroes occur… There’s a possibility that CC or DD may have to come out sometime and Bowers would be a great backup… I get that a 2nd rou nd pick should be more than a backup, but that would be worst case scenario if they couldn’t get him into a different position… I still like the potential Ayers though, I heard he could’ve been a potential 1st rounder… Anyone know much about him?

by Gildo on Apr 29, 2011 10:54 AM MDT up reply actions

IT could be called the Cuckoo

Although DD would be a tackle in this setup.it would look more like a 4/3 on most downs.
Thea rc biggest advantage of the 3/4is that the 4th passrusher can come from anywhere. (zone blitz). That still puts linemen into pass coverage if you want to rush more than 4 @a time. This grouping of players wouldn’t change that.

No more night. I have seen the light. Let it shine on bright.
HANG HIM HIGHER!!!

by Cuckoo for Coco Puffs on Apr 29, 2011 10:55 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions