Arizona Cardinals top three major positions of need

Offensive Line

Someone needs to sort through 101 years of NFL archives to see if there’s another offensive line out there that committed so many mental errors and penalties that led to safeties and free kicks to the other team. If those teams are out there, the Cardinals line had to have been close to setting a few infamous records.

This was a unit we had a lot of faith in and they failed miserably. Justin Pugh, who struggled in his previous stop, looked like a sure keeper over the past two seasons. Except he took a step back in 2020.

Kelvin Beachum proved he’s nothing more than a swing player at this point in his career. The Cardinals were ecstatic to see Josh Jones fall to them in the third round. But it should be a red flag considering he was unable to lock down one of the tackle spots in 2020.

J.R. Sweezy has been a decent stopgap at guard, as has Mason Cole at center. But both proved they’re not long-term solutions for a team who figures to be in the playoffs this time next season.

And the entire unit, including tackle D.J. Humphries and center Lamont Gaillard, is the number of penalties and overall mental errors that occurred. The Cardinals, at times, had an explosive offense. But penalties and lack of overall push up front hurt this team perhaps more than anything else.

No, it won’t take just one offseason to fix the line. Yes, all of the above are capable stopgaps and short-term solutions. But a legitimate left tackle should be on the Cardinals radar, along with solid options at the guard and center positions.