Arizona Cardinals defender will benefit with J.J. Watt signing

With the addition of J.J. Watt to the Arizona Cardinals, one player who is lucky to have him as a teammate is Chandler Jones.

Since joining the Arizona Cardinals in 2016, Jones has led all players in sacks with 61. In 2019, he finished in second place behind Shaq Barrett with a career-high 19 sacks. In 2020, however, before a week five injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season, Jones was not as productive due to opposing teams double-teaming him on his way to the quarterback.

With Watt possibly lining up right next to Jones, teams will have a decision to make on how to defend either player. If the Cardinals put Jones on the opposite side of Watt, that could be more problematic for opposing offenses.

In their careers, Watt and Jones are the top two leaders among current players in sacks, with 101 and 97, respectively. If both can stay healthy this season, the Cardinals will undoubtedly have one of the best pass rushes in the NFL. Even without Jones, Arizona finished top five in total sacks last season, led by Haason Reddick with 12.5.

Unfortunately, Watt’s health will be the biggest concern. Since 2016, he has only played two full seasons, combining for 26.5 sacks. In 2020, despite playing all 16 games, Watt had a career-low five sacks.

If neither Watt nor Jones can get to the quarterback, it can open up room for other pass rushers, as all the focus will be on those two. Arizona’s defensive front only combined for 12.5 sacks due to opposing offenses not having a primary pass rusher to focus on.

Despite Reddick’s success, five of his 12.5 sacks came in a week 12 game against the New York Giants. Going into that game, Reddick had five sacks in total.

Still, there should be no excuses for Vance Joseph going into the 2021 season now that he has two of the best pass rushers to work with.