The Arizona Cardinals have a lot of issues to address prior to the 2012 season, but perhaps one of the biggest issues is the weakness of their offensive line. They could look to improve upon that via the 2012 NFL Draft.
Eugene Stasak, the Cardinals analyst at Draft Tek, suggests in the latest mock draft that the Cardinals will select Jonathan Martin, the big offensive tackle from the Stanford Cardinal, as the No. 13 overall pick in the first round.
As we've been saying since we started doing CMDs for this year, Arizona absolutely must take the best offensive lineman available here. Levi Brown has proven that he wasn't worth the fifth overall selection in 2007 as he's simply not a starting caliber left tackle. That being said, he played well on the right side and also possesses the talents to be a Pro Bowl guard. Starting RT, Brandon Keith, is a free agent. Kevin Kolb and John Skelton are expected to battle it out for the starting job and if either are going to have success, they will need improved protection up front. Drafting Martin would allow the Cardinals to slide Levi to his more natural RT position and let Keith walk in free agency. Martin has spent the last couple years protecting Andrew Luck's blindside and is a fine prospect despite being the 4th best OT.
Stasak seems convinced that this would be the best move for the Cardinals and he's not alone in that prediction. Mel Kiper of ESPN made the same suggestion in his latest mock draft.
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