The Arizona Cardinals know one of their biggest needs is fixing up their offensive line. The lack of strong pass protection and run blocking really killed Arizona last season and sidelined their quarterbacks on way too many occasions. Arizona really knows they have to shore things up. Arizona has already made one big signing on that front by bringing in Adam Snyder to replace the departing Levi Brown.
Jonathan Martin has been one of the most prized players in the NFL Draft because, well, offensives tackles always go this high. The latest Revenge of the Birds mock draft reflects that.
Both starting tackles are very likely to be gone, and if Arizona manages to land Manning, which I predict they will, there won't be a whole lot of room to sign a FA tackle or two. Fortunately the Cardinals are able to stand pat at 13 and have the talented Martin fall into their laps. Martin is skilled enough, and smart enough to start from day one, albeit against rather poor competition, and should be able to protect either Manning's frontside or blindside better than we've grown accustomed to with Levi Brown and Brandon Keith as Cardinal fans.
Taking Martin has always been considered a high possibility, especially if he's still available. Arizona needs tackles, and taking the best guy left on the board would be prudent.
To talk about Martin with Arizona fans, hit up Revenge of the Birds. To discuss Martin with Stanford fans, head on over to Rule of Tree. To talk about the NFL Draft in general, check out Mocking the Draft.