Leonard Davis will be a sturdy addition to the Cardinals offensive line.(AP)

Could he please smile, someone asked politely.

Davis glared for a moment and then, sure enough, there it was. A smile.

Whew.

"I have a mean streak," Davis confided later. "I'm able to turn it on and off."

That's a good thing.

"When I get off the field, I'm a nice guy," Davis said. "When I get on the field, I can take a guy's head off."

In the moments before the draft began, the NFL paraded a half-dozen players out to meet commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Most of them were reasonably sized individuals.

And then there was Davis, towering and glowering.

Intrigued by his size and his mean streak, the Cardinals see him as the perfect cornerstone for an offensive line already armed with a pair of young offensive tackles in L.J. Shelton and Anthony Clement and free-agent guard Pete Kendall.

The idea of adding Davis to the mix was heartily endorsed by quarterback Jake Plummer, who was frequently manhandled by opposing defenses.

Davis was asked if he had been in touch with Plummer, since both are represented by agent Leigh Steinberg.

For the second time Saturday, he smiled.

"Yeah," he said of the Cardinals quarterback. "He's excited."

Davis wasn't. He seemed low-key about the hoopla of draft day, matter-of-fact about being picked No. 2 behind quarterback Michael Vick, who was selected by Atlanta.

"Every player's dream is to go as high as possible," Davis said. "I had the opportunity to do that. I really didn't think about where I would go. I didn't have a preference. I would have liked to have gone No. 1 but they (the Falcons) have their needs. They knew what they wanted."

So did the Cardinals.

Growing up, Davis was nicknamed "Big" and with good reason. He was 6 feet and 205 pounds in the fifth grade and 6-4, 300 pounds by the time he was in the seventh grade.

When he got to Texas, he was full-sized and an All-American.

Davis made a major impression at the NFL predraft combine in February. "I think it made a difference," he said. "I went and did everything they wanted. Whatever they wanted, I did it."

And that goes for his future at Arizona, too.

Davis is a prototype tackle, and that's where he did his dancing at Texas, where he teammates celebrated his mobility and coordination by giving him that nickname. There's some talk that the Cardinals might prefer him at guard because of the presence of Shelton and Clement.

Would that be all right, Mr. Davis?

"I'm willing to play wherever they want," he said. "I'm a versatile player. It's kind of an open thing. I've always played tackle. I feel I can play guard if I have to."

Or, at that size, wherever he wants.

Davis comes from a huge family that includes 21 brothers and sisters. For the draft, he brought a selection of 26, mostly aunts and uncles. And two sisters, he said.

Then he went to a recount.

"Oh," he said, "three sisters."

And once again, the Dancing Bear smiled.