Arizona Cardinals: Young linebackers destined for greatness
By Jim Koch
Three quarters of the group were already in place when the Arizona Cardinals drafted the fourth and final piece last Thursday
Arizona Cardinals fans had no idea what their team would do with the 13th overall pick of the NFL Draft. With the first-round position being the highest it had been in four years, the decision was anything but cut and dry. Would it be Jonathan Allen, Marlon Humphrey, Malik Hooker, Reuben Foster or maybe even O.J. Howard?
The answer to that question was none of the above. Instead, general manager Steve Keim selected Temple University dynamo, Haason Reddick. The defensive end, a native of Camden, New Jersey, will be moved to inside linebacker in Arizona’s defense.
Reddick is the final component to one of the most exciting young linebacker groups in the NFL. The 6’1″, 237 pound playmaker will man the inside with another Cardinals’ first-round pick, Deone Bucannon. They compliment each other well on paper, with Bucannon handling the run-stuffing duties, and Reddick providing an inside pass rush.
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On the outside, the squad is set with sack masters Chandler Jones and Markus Golden. While both players are above-average run-defenders, their main talent is taking down opponents’ quarterbacks. The pair combined for an impressive 23.5 sacks in 2016.
Free agent addition Karlos Dansby will most likely be the opening-day starter, simultaneously acting as Reddick’s mentor. But unlike last year’s number-one pick, Robert Nkemdiche, Reddick should play significant snaps in 2017.
Now that Keim has skillfully assembled such a talented quartet, it will take even more skill to keep them together. The most important of the four, Jones, isn’t going anywhere for awhile. He was signed to a five-year $82.5 million deal back in March.
Just last week, the Cards picked up the fifth-year option on Bucannon’s rookie contract. He’ll make $8.7 million in 2018, and then be an unrestricted free agent the following year. Golden, the club’s second-round pick in 2015, will also be a free agent at the end of the 2018 campaign.
Until then at least, Cardinals fans get to enjoy what they have. Having linebackers that can chase down running backs AND get to quarterbacks is indeed a special thing. That’s exactly what we now have in the Arizona desert.