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Cardinals LB Zaven Collins Ready for Life on the Edge
Arizona Cardinals LB Zaven Collins wasn't exactly the expected topic of discussion when it came to defensive players and their roles for 2023.
Isaiah Simmons - who has now seemingly transitioned from linebacker to safety - held the crown for majority of the offseason before it was noticed that Collins was working with edge rushers as opposed to his typical inside linebacker role.
Collins managed to bounce back from a rough rookie season and started 16 games for Arizona last season, accruing 100 tackles, six passes defended, two sacks, one interception and one forced fumble.
He played fairly well and was expected to continue anchoring the Cardinals' interior moving forward, though a complete tear down of Arizona's front office and coaching staff shook those plans.
Now, head coach Jonathan Gannon and his staff have a different vision for Collins.
"Just his skill set of how he moves and what he can bring to the table from a coverage and rush standpoint, the run game. We're still defining that role as we speak here but I think Zaven's done a good job of what we're asking him to do right now," said Gannon after OTA's.
Out of the 1,076 snaps Collins played last season for Arizona, 182 were at outside linebacker according to PFF.
After the draft, defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said the Cardinals planned to utilize him in various ways.
"Zaven’s obviously got a diverse skillset and with that you can utilize him in a lot of different ways. Whether it’s playing linebacker, playing on the edge, blitzing off the middle, blitzing off the edge, dropping in the coverage— you can really do it all with him," said Rallis.
"It’s not just the skillset, it’s his intelligence. You have to be very intelligent to be used in a versatile role, so he gives us a lot of flexibility on defense. There really isn’t a black and white answer to that. It’s multiple, and it makes you less predictable as a defense. It allows him to utilize all the different traits that he has; intelligence, speed, motor, and tackling ability. It really brings all of that out within his game.”
It sounds as if Collins won't permanently be on the edge, but rather a chess piece that can be moved around - a situation similar to what the Dallas Cowboys have done with Micah Parsons.
That sort of production shouldn't be the expectation, though it's exciting to think of the possibilities that rest ahead.
Collins says the adjustment shouldn't be too rough.
"I mean it's similar to how I played last year during certain packages, and then playing off-ball and stuff too. Working more of an edge - not really the edge aspect but outside linebacker aspect, it's helpful but also since I dropped [in coverage] so much last year and some of the guys who haven't dropped a lot," Collins said this week.
"Being able to teach them and talk to them … helping them do that is nice too so everyone has a feel for each other when you step out there."
As for what Arizona wants to do as a whole defensively, that's still a mystery. There's clearly some holes that need to be filled with Markus Golden, J.J. Watt and Zach Allen having departed the front seven.
Speculation will continue to fill the air until we actually see the product on the field.
"I don't think anyone really knows. But I would say it's definitely different than preparing for last season but also the beacons of philosophies have changed. Even some schemes have changed," said Collins. "It's something that we're all still trying to learn and try to figure out and navigate so it's going well so far."
