'Country strong' Zaven Collins hopes for a big season at new position for Cardinals

The move from inside linebacker to the outside as a pass rusher at times is well under way for the Cardinals' Zaven Collins, who has lined up on the edge every day during offense vs. defense drills since the start of training camp.

It's in that spot where Collins hopes to make an even bigger impact on defense, in his third NFL season. At 24 years old and now in a position that could be a perfect fit for his athleticism, there's a strong belief from the Cardinals and some observers that Collins has star potential.

"I've changed my body type a little bit, because I'm more at the line of scrimmage and have to be a little bit bigger," Collins said. "The mindset of going out and trying to do the best you can. It's still the same, pushing guys, I think I've taken on probably more of a leadership role. You know, that's something I want to do, personal goal as well."

Collins spends a lot of time on technique with new outside linebacker coach Rob Rodriguez. The idea is to combine rush technique with brute force, which he is trying to make second nature. He's also observed that some elite pass rushers change their rushes during the season to try to gain an advantage over blockers.

Now at a spot where sacks are there to be had, Collins has some expectations of himself.

"Everything has to be earned for sure. Obviously, I have goals for myself, I'd like to have a bunch of sacks," Collins said. "Hopefully to do that, you know, make big plays, make the offense turn the ball over, get sacks on the 'Q' and stop big drives, especially game-changers."

Rodriguez noted Collins' athletic ability, which helped Collins log 100 solo and combined tackles last season. But he also said there is a lot more to Collins that makes him special and could make him a better player in the future, including high intelligence.

"He checks off just about all the boxes. He is extremely athletic. He is a freak athlete and he's a high character person. That's really what I think is gonna make him continue to ascend and do better things, because he's just got outstanding character. Great study habits and a great teammate."

Veterans on the other side of the ball have seen Collins grow more into a seasoned player. Few have the tenure of left tackle D.J. Humphries, who early in camp saw Collins drop into pass coverage instead of being asked to rush the quarterback.

Humphries thinks Collins, who took much from his time with former Cardinals edge rusher J.J. Watt and air-guitared to the sounds of rock legends AC/DC as he lined up for a scrimmage drill this week, will thrive as a pass rusher.

"I know Zaven is so physically gifted, him playing that spot ... he's gonna do fine. He's so twitchy and so athletic. And on top of it, he's a country strong dude. The kid looks like he's been throwing bales of hay his whole life, that's really what he looks like, you know?" Humphries said. "You see him back there, this dude's like a 2008 old school linebacker, 6-5, 250 (pound) linebacker. Now you put him on the edge and it's like, this is today's age pass rusher. So I think it's gonna work really well for him."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals' Zaven Collins wants 'a bunch of sacks' in 2023