Top 3 Arizona Cardinals who have excelled so far in 2022

The Arizona Cardinals have struggled to put anything on the board in 2022. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few positives this season. 

For all my recent criticisms regarding the Arizona Cardinals, I have to give general manager Steve Keim credit. The guy does not give up, as shown in his recent trade for former Carolina Panthers receiver Robbie Anderson. Keim’s trades often work wonders, so I’m confident Anderson will have a productive year with the Cards.

And while I criticize Keim’s sheer inability to draft, a few of his recent picks have exceeded expectations in 2022. Below, you will meet three of those players.

1 – Zaven Collins is shedding the bust label

Collins isn’t having a career season, but he’s playing like someone worthy of the 16th overall pick in 2021. This year, Collins has tallied 41 combined tackles (27 solo) in six games. He also forced a fumble, tackled running backs behind the line four times, has two sacks, and two quarterback hits.

I wrote a piece zeroing in on Collins earlier, and it shows just how far he’s come in the past year. While I don’t think he will grow into a great player, he will be a solid contributor for what is an outstanding Arizona Cardinals defense.

2 – Marco Wilson deserves more credit than he’s getting

I would have laughed had someone said Marco Wilson would exceed anyone’s expectation this year. While he has yet to record an interception, Wilson’s statistics versus opposing receivers are thought-provoking.

So far, he has allowed a 54.3% completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of just 76.0. Compare that to last season, and he allowed opposing receivers to catch 70.3% of passes thrown his way. Over the 14 games he played, quarterbacks scored a 120.8 rating. This season has been another story, and Wilson more than deserves recognition.

3 – Zach Allen could be the future anchor for the Arizona Cardinals

Allen is another player I wrote a separate piece about earlier in the year. Through six games, he has 25 combined tackles, a pair of sacks, and eight quarterback hits. Allen has also found ball carriers behind the line four times, and he also set a career high with five passes deflected.

Overall, Allen will be the eventual replacement for J.J. Watt as the leader on the Arizona Cardinals defensive line. Like Collins, I don’t think he will ever transform into an elite player. But solid, consistent contributions will keep him in the red, white, and black for a long time.

Maybe I should have entitled this article, Top 3 Cardinals defensive players who excelled so far in 2022, but given the poor state of the offense, only Hollywood Brown came close to making this list. But a potentially serious injury may keep him out of action for some time, leaving the aforementioned top three taking up residence on the defensive side of the ball.

(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)