Do the Arizona Cardinals double down on the man in the middle of their new defense?
Happy Thursday one and all.
The Arizona Cardinals and the rest of the NFL are now only three weeks from the 2025 NFL Draft.
We now have a fun conundrum.
The Cardinals have added Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell on their defensive line, after adding Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols last year.
They have a depth chart along the from that looks like this:
Calais Campbell — Justin Jones — LJ Collier
Dalvin Tomlinson — Bilal Nichols
Darius Robinson — Dante Stills
However Tomlinson, Jones and Nichols are only signed through 2026, while Campbell and Collier are only signed for this season.
So, while defensive line isn’t a need this year, it also isn’t secured for the long-term and we have seen smart teams like the Philadelphia Eagles are willing to invest in their defensive line while it is still loaded.
That brings us to Kenneth Grant, the mammoth man from Michigan who could be the heir apparent to Tomlinson and give the Cardinals depth we haven’t seen in almost a decade.
From PFF:
Grant has ideal size for the nose tackle position, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing nearly 340 pounds. He also possesses rare quickness for his size. That quickness flashes in pure pass-rush situations and when shooting gaps. His hand speed can match his lower-body quickness, but not always. Too often, his hands are slow or appear flailing. His biggest issue is that he isn’t always in attack mode. While some of his assignments involve looping or containing, there are too many snaps where he hesitates rather than attacks. When he does play with aggression, he is a force.
I have two thoughts on the addition of Grant, or any defensive line type for this reason.
While I have little to no doubt Grant will reach his floor of a B.J. Raji level player, and could reach the level of a Dexter Lawrence, the question is how will fans feel about a rotational player for a year or two in Grant or likely any defensive line type?
On one hand, it is a sign of a roster that is well built and competing, it is what good teams do.
Jalen Carter only played 51% of the snaps his rookie season, Byron Murphy 49%, Braden Fiske played 59% and he is four full years older than Grant.
So, are fans ready to see a healthy rookie play 50% or less of snaps?
Or, will they get restless?