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Big fella from a small town Cards beef up offensive line with 370-pound Davis
Updated: Saturday April 21, 2001 3:32 PM
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- The Arizona Cardinals went big with the No. 2 pick in Saturday's NFL Draft -- very big. The Cardinals chose Leonard Davis, a 6-foot-6, 367-pound offensive tackle from Texas, whose nickname is, appropriately, 'Big.' "My thinking, along with the rest of us, is that we're very, very close on offense," head coach Dave McGinnis said. "This really, really strengthens us at a place where you've got to be strong in this league, and that's up front." McGinnis, given wide authority over personnel matters by owner Bill Bidwill, decided to go with Davis even though the team's biggest needs are on the defensive line. "We do have needs on defense, but we also have a need to get as strong as we can where I think our strengths are," McGinnis said. "I want an identity for this football team, and that big red line is going to be an identity. I want a physical football team. I want to run the football. I want to pound people." Davis is the largest player ever drafted by the Cardinals, one of the NFL's original franchises.
"I know you had no trouble telling which one he was standing up there on the podium," McGinnis said. "This is a guy that is a difference-maker in this league. You win with difference-makers. It's a big man's game, and you're not going to find a bigger one with more athletic ability than this." He is, by all accounts, a gentle giant, when he's not playing football. "I have a mean streak. I'm able to turn it on and off," Davis said. "When I get off the field, I'm a nice guy. When I get on the field, I can take a guy's head off." The Cardinals also completed a deal with the St. Louis Rams that sends six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Aeneas Williams to the St. Louis Rams for a second-round pick (54th overall) and a fourth-round pick (123rd overall). Arizona had made Williams a franchise player to prevent him from signing elsewhere without compensation. Williams has played his entire 10-year NFL career with the Cardinals. In addition to the draft picks, the trade clears $4.1 million in salary cap room for Arizona, money that can be used to sign the team's draft picks. "We were going to either help Aeneas Williams either be here or get into where he thought would be the best place for him," general manager Bob Ferguson said. "Aeneas deserves the opportunity to go on. We're going to miss him greatly. Everybody knows that." Davis initially could play guard for Arizona. The Cardinals already have two good, young offensive tackles in L.J. Shelton and Anthony Clement. They signed free-agent guard Pete Kendall in the offseason. "It was a dream of mine to be selected very high in the draft, and it happened," Davis said. "I'm a team player. If it takes me playing guard in order for my team to be successful, then that's what I'm going to do." If center Mike Gruttadauria returns from a neck injury, Arizona should have one of the biggest offensive lines in the NFL. The Cardinals were impressed by the Davis' condition and athletic ability. Despite his huge size, he has just 19 percent body fat. Davis, an All-America, was credited 39 pancake blocks (knocking an opponent of his feet) and 87 key blocks last season. McGinnis played football with Davis' older brother Charles at TCU. Leonard Davis has 21 brothers and sisters and grew up in Wortham, Texas, pop. 1,020. His high school had fewer than 150 students. Davis' agent is Leigh Steinberg, who also represents Arizona quarterback Jake Plummer.
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