PFF Says Cardinals Should Target Dre'Mont Jones in Free Agency
The Arizona Cardinals are looking to hit the reset button after a disastrous 4-13 season.
Kliff Kingsbury and Steve Keim are gone. J.J. Watt is retiring, DeAndre Hopkins is on the verge of being traded and the Cardinals have nearly 30 free agents to make decisions on.
When it comes to free agency, the Cardinals should have some cap space to mess around with - about $14.6 million in projected cap space on OverTheCap.
Should they look to address the defensive line, Pro Football Focus suggests Arizona goes after Denver Broncos DL Dre'Mont Jones:
"If Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph sticks around in Arizona, this would not be a reunion with one of his former players — he was the head coach of the Denver Broncos from 2017-18 (Jones was drafted in 2019) — but he certainly should have familiarity with Jones," said PFF's Brad Spielberger.
"While it seems like the Cardinals and interior defender Zach Allen should be able to work out an extension after a breakout 2022 campaign, perhaps they look in a different direction and add a player with a little more pass-rush juice.
"Over the last three seasons, Jones’ 115 quarterback pressures rank 15th among interior defenders while his 14.8% pass rush win rate ranks 13th. He could stand to improve as a run defender, but 3-4 defensive ends with this level of pass-rush ability don’t hit free agency too often.
"Adding help in the secondary would go a long way for the Cardinals as well, but the best player in their front seven in 2022 was J.J. Watt, who is now retired. They need help all over this defense, and generating a consistent pass rush on the interior could be a good first step."
Jones, who will be 26-years-old for next season, was Denver's third-round pick in 2019 and looks to earn some dough after playing through his rookie contract. He started all 13 games prior to landing on injured reserve with a hip injury.
Jones tallied 47 tackles with 6.5 sacks and one forced fumble last season.
Zach Allen, Michael Dogbe and Trysten Hill are scheduled free agents for the Cardinals to make decisions on. Many suspect Georgia DL Jalen Carter to be available for Arizona to select with the third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Options will be aplenty for new general manager Monti Ossenfort.
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