Greedy Williams at #33?

If LSU’s CB Greedy Williams is on the board at #33, if you are making the pick for the Arizona Cardinals would you rush his card to the podium?

Greedy Williams is considered by many to be the most talented man-to-man cover CB in the draft. He is 6-2, 185 pounds with 31 1/2” arms and 9 1/4” hands. At the Combine, he ran a 4.37 40. At his Pro Day he benched only 8 reps at 225, but sprang a 37” vertical jump and a 10’4” broad jump (would have been tops for CBs at the Combine, along with his 4.37 40_.

Williams is a natural press CB and would give the team a longer, more athletic option in matchups versus bigger WRs and TEs. In many ways he’s a defensive coordinator’s dream come true---save the one glaring aspect of his game that is lacking, which is his tackling and eagerness to force to run.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler posted his annual 7 round mock draft yesterday and he has Greedy Williams going to the Cardinals at #33. Here are Brugler’s early 2nd round projections:

Second Round

33. Arizona Cardinals – Greedy Williams, CB, LSU

34. Indianapolis Colts – Johnathan Abram, SS, Mississippi State

35. Oakland Raiders – L.J. Collier, EDGE, TCU

36. San Francisco 49ers – Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma

During the season, Brown was trending toward the top half of Round One. But his Lisfranc surgery (at only 166 pounds) has cooled his draft projection, giving the 49ers a steal in the early second. Brown and Dante Pettis in back-to-back second rounds is a nice haul for Jimmy Garoppolo.

37. New York Giants – Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss

38. Jacksonville Jaguars – N’Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State

39. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama

40. Buffalo Bills – Kaleb McGary, OT, Washington

41. Denver Broncos – Chris Lindstrom, OG, Boston College

To be honest, I would not take Greedy Williams over Marquise Brown, but then again I would be surprised if come Day 2, either one of them would be available.

The harder decision would be to take Williams over WR N’Keal Harry (#38 in the Brugler Mock) or Hakeem Butler (#47) or Andy Isabella (#61). This is the toughest factor with the #33 pick---the top WRs will be gobbled up before the Cardinals pick at #65 to open the 3rd round. In my opinion, the Cardinals should take their top rated WR here (or close by if they trade back a few spots).

I do not see the Cardinals taking G Chris Lindstrom here because they have invested heavily in starting guards Justin Pugh and J.R. Sweezy and are planning to groom Mason Cole at guard.

Brugler has C Garrett Bradbury going to the Titans (#17) and C Erik McCoy going to the Ravens (#22) in Round 1. I am not sure how high the Cardinals have rated the consensus #3 C Elgton Jenkins for him to be a consideration at #33---maybe of they trade back. Brugler has Jenkins going to the Texas (#54) in round 2.

I think the Cardinals will draft an offensive tackle, but not at #33 unless Andre Dillard, Jonah Williams or Cody Ford somehow slips through the cracks. And I am not convinced that Dalton Risner, Greg Little or Kaleb McGary are natural system fits in the spread. But I believe Bobby Evans is and there’s a chance he could be on the board st #65.

If one of the top DTs falls to #33, that would be a huge consideration if the Cardinals do not take a DT like Quinnen Williams or Ed Oliver with their 1st pick (at #1 or on a trade down). Dexter Lawrence or Jerry Tillery may be hard to pass up---but the Cardinals also may be targeting 34DE Anthony Nelson (met with Cardinals at Senior Bowl) or Renell Wren (private visit with Cardinals) at #65 or with a pick added in a trade.

TE Irv Smith could be a superb pick if he gets past the Patriots at #32. But, the question I would ask is whether he would have a bigger impact on the offense than Marquise Brown, N’Keal Harry, Hakeem Butler or Andy Isabella? I will say this---if Josh Rosen remains the QB1, a security blanket TE like Irv Smith might be the best possible choice, given that Charles Clay is on a one year deal and Ricky Seals-Jones has yet to prove he can be that guy.

The #33 pick for the Cardinals is in many ways more fascinating than the #1 pick because of the myriad of options and the mystery of what highly rated prospects will still be available.

Using Brugler’s mock, what player would you choose at #33?

I would take Marquise Brown---but I think he will be long gone by then. So, realistically I would take one of the top rated WRs there---Hakeem Butler, N’Keal Harry or Andy Isabella---and because Isabella is the most productive and the fastest (4.36), I would choose him and come back with a bigger WR like an Antoine Wesley or Keelan Doss later on.

By the way, all of Brugler’s picks for the Cardinals are as follwows:

Arizona Cardinals

1.1 QB Kyler Murray

2.33 CB Greedy Williams

3.65 TE Jace Sternberger

4.103 OT Yodny Cajuste

5.139 WR Dillon Mitchell

6.174 OG Marquez Tucker

6.179 DT Cortez Broughton

7.248 RB Alex Barnes

7.249 WR Antoine Wesley

7.254 EDGE Quinton Bell

I am fascinated by this draft but feel cheated out of one of the top WRs and 34DEs---two of the team’s highest needs, imo.