What McFadden offers the Cardinals

BasX · Mar 9, 2009

Signing cornerback Bryant McFadden from the Steelers could stand as one of the more promising additions in the NFC West this offseason.

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Bryant McFadden should be a good complement to Arizona's other cornerback, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

After selecting cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the first round last year, the Cardinals could not realistically target that position early in the 2009 draft. But they did need to improve in the secondary. McFadden provides the upgrade.

Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. offered the following assessment when I spoke with him Monday morning:

I watched every McFadden game. He is a step slow, but other than that, I was shocked he didn't get more attention in free agency. I think he'll start right away opposite Rodgers-Cromartie. They know him from Pittsburgh and he brings that hard-nosed mentality.

The arm injury McFadden suffered last season probably hurt his stock in free agency, but Williamson sounded undeterred:

When he was on the field, he was a starting corner with the arrow going up.

McFadden is 6 feet tall and 190 pounds. Rodgers-Cromartie is 6-foot-2 and closer to 185. McFadden has experience matching up with new Seahawks receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh from their days together in the AFC North. He also plays a more physical style than Rodgers-Cromartie, who is far faster and more athletic.

Williamson: They have very dissimilar skill sets. As No. 2 corners go, you could do a lot worse than Bryant McFadden. Their pass rush still isn't terrific. When you are going from covering guys in the Steelers' defense to what they have to offer in Arizona, he has to cover a little longer. But now you eliminate a need at corner and maybe draft a pass-rusher earlier.

The Cardinals face needs more pressing than cornerback in the draft. They could use a running back and tight end on offense. The draft appears to offer quite a few promising ones this year. On defense, the Cardinals could use an outside linebacker type to add speed and pass-rush help. Again, the draft appears to have depth in that area.
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