Depth chart

played well at the nose last year. Josh Mauro is underrated and tough. Frostee Rucker, when healthy, makes his share of plays in the backfield. Coaches are high on Rodney Gunter, but the production on the field hasn’t matched their objectives for him yet.

Olsen Pierre and Xavier Williams need to go from prospects to players.

The wild card in this group is Robert Nkemdiche, last year’s first-round pick. The idea was to play him 25 or so snaps a game, but he wasn’t able to do that. An ankle injury in training camp set him back, but so did a lack of maturity.

That has to be a concern entering 2017. Starters: Corey Peters, Josh Mauro, Frostee Rucker Backups: Rodney Gunter, Robert Nkemdiche, Olsen Pierre, Ed Stinson, Xavier Williams. Evaluation: The Cardinals need that one elite player up front that most championship teams have. Is that Nkemdiche? What they do have is depth and a nice rotation. Coaches and management thought so much of this group last year that they kept the same nine players on the regular roster all year. That’s unusual. Need rating: High inside to make life easier for pass rushers Markus Golden and Chandler Jones.

Mac’s top 5

azcentral sports NFL writer Bob McManaman lists his top five prospects among defensive linemen: 1. Myles Garrett, 6-4, 272, Texas A&M 2. Solomon Thomas, 6-2, 273, Stanford 3. Jonathan Allen, 6-3, 286, Alabama 4. Takkarist McKinley, 6-2, 250, UCLA 5. Derek Bennett, 6-3, 259, Tennessee