Arizona Cardinals could parlay awful campaign into Will Anderson Jr.
By Jim Koch
The University of Alabama edge-rusher could be the consolation prize for one of the worst campaigns in Arizona Cardinals history.
The past few months have been downright awful for the Arizona Cardinals football squad. If things fall right, however, the Redbirds could parlay one of the worst seasons in franchise history into a can’t-miss defensive prospect.
Will Anderson Jr., a sensational edge-rusher out of the University of Alabama, will not be available for long when the NFL Draft gets underway next April. If they were smart, Arizona’s decision-makers would do everything in their power to make sure that Anderson Jr. is donning a Cardinals uniform in 2023.
Not surprisingly, the Cards generated very little pass-rush from the outside linebacker position in 2022. Regular starters Markus Golden and Dennis Gardeck have combined for just 3.5 sacks this fall. First-year players Myjai Sanders (three sacks) and Cameron Thomas (two sacks) have showed promise, but their presence should not discourage the Arizona front office from adding a potential superstar like Anderson Jr.
The 6 foot 4, 235 pound Anderson Jr. racked up 51 tackles (17 for a loss), 10 sacks and a pick-six for the Crimson Tide defensive unit in ’22 . As impressive as those numbers are, it was Anderson Jr.’s incredible production the year before that really turned the heads of scouts.
In 2021, Anderson Jr. totaled an eye-popping 17.5 sacks and 101 tackles in his 15 appearances for Alabama. During his three years at the school, the Georgia native was credited with 204 tackles (58.5 for a loss), 34.5 sacks and four passes defensed for the “Tide”.
Arizona Cardinals could use the NFL Draft to upgrade the pass rush in 2023
Last March, the Cardinals allowed the great Chandler Jones to depart in free agency and never adequately replaced him. Sanders and Thomas were third-round draft selections, but the young pass-rushers were handed a limited amount of playing time.
If the season ended today, the Cards would hold the fourth-overall choice in the draft’s opening round. Of the teams situated ahead of the club, the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks could quite possibly be eyeing a quarterback. The Chicago Bears appear to be settled at the signal-caller spot with Justin Fields, so Anderson Jr. could pique their interest.
Of course, the draft order could change over the last three weeks of the season. There’s a fairly good chance that Arizona could lose out, especially considering the fact that Kyler Murray is now sidelined with a torn ACL.
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The current campaign has been a depressing one for “Big Red”, but there could be a light at the end of the tunnel. If the Cardinals end up with a stud like Anderson Jr., all of that losing would’ve been well worth it.
(Statistics provided by College Football Reference)
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