Cardinals Need to be All-In on New Trade Target

The Arizona Cardinals' defensive front seven needs work; we’ve said it countless times, but for good reason. A team that was competitive a season ago fell short and a big reason was its front seven.

Free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft have several solutions available with both pools having a near surplus at the position. There are players available via trade as well, none more so than Myles Garrett.

But a new name is entering the trading black: Jonathan Allen.

The longtime Washington Commanders standout has been one of the franchise’s most consistent players over the last decade-plus. Allen has made the Pro Bowl twice in his eight pro seasons, all with Washington.

The numbers are solid, too. 42 sacks as a defensive tackle is not something to overlook here. Allen also has five-straight seasons with 60-or-more tackles and another with 53. The only two seasons where Allen failed to get to that mark were his injury-plagued rookie season in 2017 and last season where he appeared in eight games.

Beyond 2017 and 2024, Allen missed just three games from 2018 to 2023. Injuries are of no concern here, and Allen even returned from a partially torn pec near the end of last season after a tear just a couple of months prior. He’s a borderline Iron Man.

Allen also just turned 30-years-old at the end of January. For his position, he (in theory) shouldn’t see a significant fall off for a few more years.

In other words, teams should be all-in on grabbing Allen. Obviously, this includes the Cardinals.

Allen is beyond proven at the position, starting 107 of 108 games played. He’s also played at a high-level for the majority of his career — two Pro Bowl selections is far too few for the Alabama product considering what he’s done.

I wouldn’t say he’s remotely close to being a Hall of Famer, but I’d say he’s a top-10 interior defensive lineman from the last 10 seasons.

Now look at what the Cardinals currently have… nothing that compares to Allen and even combining everyone on this roster into one player doesn’t equate to Allen. Simply put, Allen is a clear and drastic upgrade to this defense.

As I said, injuries are of no concern with Allen. I highly doubt 2024 is a sign of things to come considering his previous six seasons did not include significant injury. He’s also productive, steady, and reliable.

On top of all of that, he’s a team leader and a rally the troops guy on defense. I’ve said that Arizona needs more of those guys with Budda Baker being the only standout (pending Kyzir White returning as a free agent).

Allen fits that role and he does it on the opposite side of the defense, giving you a guy on the backend and a guy up front.

It’s a great add that shouldn’t cost more than a day three pick. Even with limited draft capital this year, I could move a fourth or a combination of picks this year and next year and feel great about the decision.

This is a day one starter and one of the three best defenders the moment he arrives.

As far as the contract goes, Allen will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025 season. So at worst you take him in for a trial run and if it doesn’t work, you let him walk. At best, you can re-sign him as a player who is perhaps just outside of the prime of their career and will continue to be a starting caliber guy for the foreseeable future.

I truly believe this move is a low risk deal with a solid reward as potential if it works out. Should Allen make his way to the desert, I wouldn’t expect him to be any kind of perennial Pro Bowl-level player, but I would expect him to be one of the most dependable players on defense out the gate.

For a price that I can certainly guarantee won’t be backbreaking, this is the kind of move that transitions and average events to the next level.

Let’s find a way to make Jonathan Allen in Arizona Cardinal in 2025.