Cardinals have 2 of league’s top edge defenders entering 2021, per PFF
The Arizona Cardinals enter the 2021 season with high hopes. Defensively, they hope to get pass-rushing production after letting leading sacker Haason Reddick leave in free agency. They get back Chandler Jones, signed J.J. Watt and re-signed Markus Golden.
Pro Football Focus ranked the top 32 edge defenders in the league heading into the 2021 season and two Cardinals make the list.
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J.J. Watt
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Watt is the first Cardinal on the list at No. 12.
The biggest issue for Watt throughout his career has been health. Few defensive linemen have been as dominant as Watt when he has been healthy over the past decade. He might not quite be the same guy who put up four consecutive 90.0-plus PFF grades and won three Defensive Player of the Year trophies from 2012 to 2015, but he can still impact the game at a high level. Watt has been the third most valuable edge defender in the league since 2018, per PFF WAR. We could see him play more on the interior again in Arizona.
Watt is expected to be used the way he was used in Houston, meaning he will start on the interior and likely will kick out to the edge in passing downs. As an edge defender last year, he was double-teamed more than anyone else. That will be difficult for opposing offenses to do with Watt opposite Chandler Jones and Jordan Phillips on the interior.
Chandler Jones
Despite coming off a year in which he played only five games and only had one sack, Jones definitely should be on this list. He comes in at No. 16.
The potential is there for a formidable duo in Arizona, with Jones and Watt now joining forces as teammates. They rank first and second, respectively, in sacks since Jones entered the league in 2012. Jones appeared in just five games for Arizona in 2020, but he recorded a career-high 90.0 pass-rushing grade the last time he played a full season. He’s a key part of a talented front seven that may need to make life easier for a shaky cornerback group by speeding up opposing quarterbacks.
What is impressive is that, even missing nearly an entire season because of a torn biceps, he still has more sacks than anyone since he entered the league. He is only one season removed from his 19-sack year in 2019. Now he has Watt on the other side and Phillips on the inside. It could be a big year for Jones if he is healthy.
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