The Arizona Cardinals’ defensive front was one of the team’s biggest strengths during the first half of the 2021 season. Chandler Jones, J.J. Watt and Markus Golden were all playing at a high level.
Flash forward to 2022. Chandler Jones is currently in Las Vegas playing for the Raiders. J.J. Watt and Markus Golden remain but the team has yet to find a veteran replacement for losing the team’s All-time leader in sacks.
In their tiers ranking all 32 defensive lines in the NFL, Pro Football Focus ranked their unit 27th in the league. They were in the tier of “question marks at multiple positions.”
The Cardinals are asking two rookies — Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders — to replace Chandler Jones‘ production on the edge. That’s no easy task. Jones recorded a PFF pass-rushing grade above 84.0 in four of his six seasons with the Cardinals. J.J. Watt is still in the fold as an impact player up front, as his 18.3% pass-rush win rate when healthy last season ranked fifth among all interior defensive linemen with at least 100 pass-rushing snaps, but staying healthy has been the issue for Watt as he enters his 12th NFL season.
They aren’t wrong that the team is asking a ton out of two third-round rookies to replicate the production from Jones. Perhaps they will make a big move at the position before the start of the regular season, but they have given no indication at doing that yet.
With an extremely young cornerback and inside linebacker room, they would greatly benefit from doing so.
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