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The Arizona Cardinals defense loves LSU Tigers. They have Patrick Peterson and, in the 2013 NFL Draft, added linebacker Kevin Minter and defensive back Tyrann Mathieu. They are a pair of talented players being added to an already talented defensive unit.
Bobby Gomila, from the LSU site And the Valley Shook, gave his thoughts on where these former Tigers landed, as well as the other LSU players that were selected during the draft.
He found the Cardinals' drafting of Minter as an interesting situation.
This is kind of an odd fit, because I'm not really sure whether the Cardinals are still a 3-4 front or moving to a 4-3. Minter's much more of a fit in the 4-3 as a middle ‘backer where he can thump in the A and B gaps and pursue.
Gomila is not the only one to wonder about his fit, but the team clearly thinks that he can fit in alongside Daryl Washington, or even perhaps in his place to start off the season, as Washington will be serving a four-game suspension to start the season.
Gomila also feels that Mathieu is in a great situation.
I'm not sure this could've worked out any better for Mathieu. He lands, not only with his "big brother" Peterson, but with an organization he's spent a lot of time around in recent months due to his relationship with the budding Cardinals superstar. On the field, Mathieu gives the team another special teams dynamo, which can help maximize Peterson's load in that area and allow him to focus more on defense.
What I like about the pick is that it appears that Mathieu, even if he doesn't become the same type of ball-hawking player on defense, his special teams play should keep him in the league, whether it is on punt returns or simply in the transition unit.
Obviously the team believes and hopes that he can making a lasting impact on defense, but his skillset is not limited to one area alone.
The development of Minter will be an interesting development, especially since the team just recently is finishing up an failed experiment with a linebacker that has had success in a 4-3 MLB position and try unsuccessfully to transition to ILB in a 3-4 scheme (Stew Bradley).
What do you all think of the commentary given by our LSU friends?
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