Draft Day is finally here! The 2011 NFL Draft is hours away and we couldn't be more excited if Cam Newton dropped by for coffee and threw a laptop out the window. Today is the day that young prospects like Patrick Peterson and Von Miller begin their professional football careers. And for fans it's the day that your crappy team has a chance to pick up an impact player in the first round. For the 5-11 Arizona Cardinals, today is the day that all that losing really pays off.
We start our NFL 2011 Draft Day coverage with a final mock draft via our friends and masters at SB Nation HQ in Washington DC. They promise they have recovered from the shock of seeing Albert Haynesworth indicted on sexual assault charges to put together the definitive final mock draft of the 2011 NFL Mock Draft season.
With the fifth pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals (might) select...Patrick Peterson, cornerback from LSU!
Peterson is an elite talent and has self-described Deion Sanders swag. Placed across the field from Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the DRC plus PP duo could provide the kind of defensive coverage pressure that would allow new coordinator Ray Horton a chance to be more aggressive in his blitz and run packages. Peterson is the top talent in this year's draft according to Mel Kiper's Big Board.
There's still plenty of people that think the Cardinals will trade out of the fifth pick, but at this point not even GM Rod Graves knows if he's going to do that. Those decisions usually come down to the wire as teams play chicken with trade offers and try and get the best deal possible.
Whatever the outcome in Thursday's first round draft, we will be there to cover it and mock it and generally make fun of any parts of it we can.
The first round of the 2011 NFL Draft starts at 5 p.m. (AZT) on Thursday, April 28, and SB Nation has everything you need to prepare: NFL mock drafts, draft projections, scouting reports, the full NFL draft schedule and more. Check it out at SB Nation's NFL Draft page and our NFL Draft blog, Mocking the Draft or for Cardinals coverage, visit Revenge of the Birds.