ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals' plan since before the end of last season has been to select a cornerback in the first round of Tuesday's NFL draft.
But whether the Cardinals will actually call out a cornerback's name with their first-round choice depends on what the 16 clubs picking ahead of them do with their selections.
If either is still available, the Cardinals most likely will pick either Tim Lewis of Pittsburgh, considered the best cornerback available by most pro scouts, or Terry Kinard of Clemson, a safety in college who could probably switch to cornerback in the pros.
The Cardinals need for a cornerback is unquestioned. Their defense intercepted six passes last year, the third-lowest total in the NFL, and allowed 16 touchdown passes in nine regular-season games. The defense was burned for four more touchdown passes in a 41-16 playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Carl Allen, the starter all last season at right cornerback, became a free agent and fled to the Chicago Blitz of the USFL. Veteran Roger Wehrli retired, leaving the team with only one reliable cornerback, third-year pro Jeff Griffin, the starter on the left side.
The starting right cornerback on the team's spring depth chart is Wayne Smith, who was acquired on waivers from Detroit last season and was injured in his first and only game with the Cardinals.
The only other cornerbacks listed are Vance Bedford, who spent virtually all of his rookie season last year on the injured reserve list, and Herb Williams, who usually is a safety.
St. Louis could be forced to change its plan if three teams picking ahead of the Cardinals -- Atlanta, San Diego and Detroit -- all take cornerbacks, which is a possibility.
If Lewis and Kinard are both drafted before the Cardinals' turn comes, the team could switch signals and try to fill another need -- a fast wide receiver -- with the first-round pick and load up on secondary candidates later.
If that happens, the probable best bet is Willie Gault of Tennessee, who is considered a better prospect than college teammate Anthony Hancock, a first-round selection by the Kansas City Chiefs last year.
Gault caught 50 passes his senior year for an average of 16.4 yards per reception and has both world-class speed (4.38 in the 40-yard dash) and size (6-feet, 178 pounds).
The Cardinals' starting wide receivers are Roy Green and Pat Tilley, but they would like someone to take the place of the retired Mel Gray.
