D-line likely holds key to Cards’ success
As the 2019 football season approaches we continue our Cardinals position-by-position series:
Today: Defensive line
If the Cardinals have any hope of proving their doubters wrong and finding a way to finish with their first winning season in four years, this particular group figures to have a lot to do with the team’s failure or its success.
It doesn’t have the star power the Cardinals have at some other positions. In fact, the entire defensive-line group is devoid of any real household names.
Vance Joseph’s greatest coaching as the newest coordinator in charge of the defense might have to come here in order to get the most out of this collection of serviceable, but not spectacular, players.
Instead of shelling out big money for one of the better defensive tackles or defensive ends on the free-agent market or using one of their three picks in the first two rounds of the draft on a top-rated defensive line prospect, the Cardinals opted to piecemeal things together.
It will be interesting to see how things come together at the start of camp, where veteran Corey Peters (nose tackle), newcomer Darius Philon (defensive end) and fifth-year pro Rodney Gunter (defensive tackle/end) figure to form the initial nucleus among the starters up front.
The Cardinals ranked last overall a year ago against the run, allowing 154.9 yards rushing per game as well as a league-high 25 touchdowns on the ground. The Cardinals used their third-round draft pick to select Boston College defensive lineman Zach Allen.
In switching back to a 3-4 base defense, the front liners will be getting help from edge rushers Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs as well as the team’s two starting inside linebackers, Jordan Hicks and Haason Reddick.
Peters is an underappreciated cog in the mix who has earned his stripes as one of the team’s best leaders both on the field and off. Gunter has plenty of talent and has been incredibly dependable, but he hasn’t blown anybody away and still projects as just an average performer. Philon was a sixth-round pick by the Chargers in 2015 and has only made 19 NFL starts.
They added two pieces to the puzzle in defensive end Zach Allen, their thirdround pick out of Boston College, and veteran defensive tackle Terrell
McClain, who has bounced around the league and is now on his seventh team in nine years since entering the NFL in 2011 with the Panthers.
Player on the hot seat
Darius Philon: Under any other circumstance, the pick here would be Nkemdiche, who so far has been a bust. But he’s trying to come back from a serious knee injury and it’s not fair to have the same expectations for him at the moment that everyone has had for him the past three years. Because of that, Philon is the key player to watch entering camp and the preseason. He will be getting every opportunity to take on a starting role at one of the end positions and we’ll see how he responds. One thing to note about Philon: He’s made a very seamless transition from the Chargers to the Cardinals, quickly earning respect and friendships inside the locker room because of both his seriousness and his jovial personality.
Potential breakout performer
Zach Allen: The Cardinals had him rated among the Top 25 overall prospects in this year’s draft, which is saying something considering they didn’t pick him until the third round with the 65th overall selection. Allen saw himself as a potential first-rounder and said he plans to use his draft slide as further motivation to make the biggest impact he can during his rookie season. Besides his versatility — he can play every position along the line — one of Allen’s strongest intangibles is his nonstop motor and his desire to devour ballcarriers. He’s also made a habit of studying top-flight defensive ends in the NFL such as the Texans’ J.J. Watt, which could explain his penchant for deflecting passes at the line of scrimmage. He had 16 of them in college.
What he said
“I’m happy with the change back to the 3-4. I think it allows guys across the board to be more comfortable and being in more of their natural positions or what they’ve been playing for a while, anyway. I think it’s coming together well. We like Vance and we think it’s an opportunity to get back into that Top 5 defense and that’s what we’re shooting for.”
– Corey Peters on the Cardinals’ defense in 2019