Cardinals' Defensive Line Ranks as Worst Unit in NFL
It's that time of the offseason where pieces such as positional rankings emerge to fill the void of no football between now and training camp in late July.
The Arizona Cardinals aren't exactly winners in most areas, and that trend continued when Pro Football Focus evaluated every defensive line in the NFL.
The Cardinals ranked dead last, falling behind teams such as the New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears.
"The Cardinals lost three impactful starters from last season in J.J. Watt, Zach Allen and Markus Golden, which would be a reason for concern regardless. However, the problem is that the Cardinals did not really attempt to replace those players," said PFF.
"Arizona has only one defensive lineman who played more than 350 snaps last season, and that was interior defender Leki Fotu, who ranked 125th out of 127 players at his position in PFF grade.
"Although we highlighted edge defender Cameron Thomas as a potential breakout candidate for the Cardinals, this unit might struggle mightily during the 2023 season."
The Cardinals registered just 36 sacks last season, ranking in the bottom ten of the league. Arizona - as PFF mentioned - last Watt and Allen, which accounted for half of those numbers.
The team brought in LJ Collier and drafted BJ Ojulari in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, though Arizona will ultimately need guys such as Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders to step up.
The Cardinals are also moving Zaven Collins to inside linebacker - will the move pay off?
Time will tell, of course. Yet for now, many believe Arizona has one of the worst defensive lines in the league.
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