Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon has preached adaptability as one of the main pillars of what he wants to do with the team. He expects his scheme and coaches to adapt to what the players do best.
He and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis will prove their mettle this year with the Cardinals on defense. After both were with the Philadelphia Eagles last season and their tremendous defense, they must adapt to new personnel because the way the Eagles had their defensive roster filled in terms of talent is the opposite of how the Cardinals have their roster.
The biggest difference is the defensive line.
Gannon had Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave and first-round rookie Jordan Davis on the defensive interior and dominating.
Fletcher Cox is on of the best defensive tackles of this generation. Hargrave is one of the best in the league right now and Davis was a freak coming out of Georgia.
They had big names, big talent and proven production.
The Cardinals have none of that.
Their two best defensive linemen are gone. J.J. Watt retired and Zach Allen signed with the Denver Broncos as a free agent.
The Cardinals have neither known players nor proven production among their defensive linemen.
These are the Cardinals’ defensive linemen currently battling for a spot on the roster:
- Rashard Lawrence
- Leki Fotu
- Jonathan Ledbetter
- Ben Stille
- Eric Banks
- Kevin Strong
- Carlos Watkins
- Dante Stills
- Jacob Slade
- L.J. Collier
Stills and Slade are rookies, Stills drafted in the sixth round and Slade signed after going undrafted.
Stille played seven games between two teams last year as an undrafted rookie.
Lawrence and Fotu were drafted in the fourth round in 2020. They have one career sack between them. The Cardinals love Lawrence but he has not played more than 11 games in any of his three seasons.
Ledbetter has 26 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 16 games over four years in the NFL.
Banks went undrafted in 2020 and has four career NFL games in 2021-2022.
Strong has two NFL starts.
Collier is a failed first-round draft pick with three career sacks as an edge defender. The Cardinals plan on using him more inside.
Watkins is the most decorated defensive lineman on the team with 69 career games, five sacks and 132 tackles.
A 32-year-old Cox had seven sacks for the Eagles in 2022.
The Cardinals have 11.5 career sacks among 10 players on the defensive line.
If the Cardinals can succeed to some extent on defense with that, Gannon is truly an adaptable coach.
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