2013 NFL Draft: Arizona Cardinals Drop the Ball in Drafting Jonathan Cooper


Jonathan Cooper

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

It only took a handful of picks in the 2013 NFL draft before the first pick to come up that I really felt like didn’t make their team better. With the seventh pick in the first round, the Arizona Cardinals drafted offensive guard from North Carolina Jonathan Cooper.

That’s not to say Cooper is a bad player, because he isn’t. In fact, he’s a tremendous player — but this doesn’t make this team better in any appreciable way, most of all in wins and losses.

As good as Cooper is, I’m just not sure how this pick can satisfy Cardinals fans. Cooper will likely move to center where he can can be a 10-year starter, but this is a team that needed real help on defense, and more importantly needs to think about their quarterback position.

I understand they brought in quarterback Carson Palmer, but if I am a Cardinals fan, I don’t feel great about this pick. Adding mediocre quarterback after mediocre quarterback isn’t the answer. This is a quarterback-driven league, and the Cardinals play in a conference that is so deep and talented at quarterback, I simply don’t see how this closes the gap between the Cardinals and the rest of the NFC West.

Obviously, this pick can look a lot better if the Cardinals still get a top quarterback either in a trade back into the round, or if a player slips to the second round. But, on the surface, this pick feels like one of those picks bad teams make, and ones we talk about the next season when they are picking high again.

Curt covers the Pittsburgh Steelers, the NFL draft, and college football for Rant Sports. Connect with Curt on Twitter @nfldraftboard.

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