Arizona Cardinals: Predicting defensive depth chart
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals have a lot of young talent on defense that could find themselves atop the defensive depth chart
It’s still a ways off for the Arizona Cardinals and the 2017 regular season. It’s still about a month and a half until training camp starts.
However that won’t stop the prediction business. The Cardinals are currently at 90 players overall but here is a look at what the defensive depth chart may look like when the first one is released in late July/early August.
Defensive tackle:
Robert Nkemdiche, Ed Stinson
Nose tackle:
Xavier Williams, Corey Peters, Olson Pierre
Defensive tackle:
Rodney Gunter, Josh Mauro, Frostee Rucker, Pasoni Tasini
Don’t be surprised if the Cardinals carry at least nine defensive tackles in 2017. They might only keep eight but with the injury possibilities, just as they appeared in 2016, it is prudent to keep as many as seven to nine.
Inside Linebacker:
Deone Bucannon, Gabe Martin, Zavier Gooden
Inside Linebacker:
Haason Reddick, Karlos Dansby, Scooby Wright, Alani Fua, Tre’von Johnson
Outside Linebacker (weakside):
Markus Golden, Kareem Martin, Cap Capi
Outside Linebacker (strongside):
Chandler Jones, Jarvis Jones, Mikey Bart
The great thing about this roster is many of these guys can be slotted into more than one position. Bucannon, who may miss the start of the season due to injury, can play at linebacker or safety if needed.
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If you listen to coach Bruce Arians, Reddick could make waves and bid to be a starter. You’d hope for that out of a first-round pick.
Left Cornerback:
Patrick Peterson, Justin Bethel, Sojourn Shelton, Elie Bouka, Gump Hayes
Right Cornerback:
Brandon Williams, Rudy Ford, Ronald Zamort, Jumal Rolle, Ryan Lewis
Strong Safety:
Antoine Bethea, Tyvon Branch, Harlan Miller, Ironhead Gallon, Drico Johnson
Free Safety:
Tyrann Mathieu, Budda Baker, Cyril Noland-Lewis
The cornerback situation is unsettled certainly. The hope is Williams can take control of the opposite starting job of Peterson. Many are skeptical though of his skills. Arians likes him though.
At safety, Mathieu is one of those guys that can more around the field a bit. Also you could see Miller at corner in addition to safety. He is officially listed as a safety.