Haason Reddick beefs up the Arizona Cardinals defense
With the 13th overall pick the Arizona Cardinals instantly added depth and talent to an already talented defense
The Arizona Cardinals for the second straight year used their first round pick on the defensive side of the football. Arizona used their 13th overall pick on Temple linebacker Haason Reddick, a talent and versatile player who can be used in a variety of ways. Most mock drafts had Arizona going in a whole different direction, with Arizona taking a quarterback, wide receiver or corner back.
The Cardinals defense has had success the past couple years and has boasted talent. Reddick will join a linebacker core that has names like Chandler Jones, Markus Golden, and Karlos Dansby. One of the most exciting things to look forward to is how much Reddick will improve learning from the likes of Jones, Golden and Dansby.
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Reddick who was a walk on at Temple, had 22.5 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks and 65 total tackles. He played defensive end in college but will take that skill and use it at linebacker. Reddick adds a lot of versatility, something the Cardinals love. He can play inside, outside and if necessary on the line. He will be bringing more explosive and disruptive play making to the Cardinals second ranked defense.
His versatility is something that will help the Cardinals defense. Head Coach Bruce Arians and General Manager Steve Kiem love his ability to play where they need him.
“He will have a huge impact at a lot of different positions, He gives us a lot of flexibility.” said Arians
The Cardinals just seem to always be getting better on defense, taking a versatile linebacker in the first round was their statement that defense is a priority. Now when teams have to deal with Chandler Jones and Markus Golden, they can add Haason Reddick to that list.