The Arizona Cardinals have an extremely young roster, especially among their edge defenders.
One of them, Cameron Thomas, a 2022 third-round selection, was named Pro Football Focus’ 2023 breakout player for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are looking for help at the edge defender position after J.J. Watt‘s retirement, highlighted by their decision to draft BJ Ojulari in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
However, one key player might already have been on the roster, as 2022 third-round pick Cameron Thomas flashed potential when he got on the field last season. Thomas earned a PFF overall grade of 69.9 in his rookie campaign and ranked 42nd out of 133 qualifying edge defenders in pass-rush grade.
Thomas was named the Cardinals’ secret superstar for 2023 by Touchdown Wire recently.
At outside linebacker, he should get significant playing time in 2023 and, if his production in limited playing time last year can be replicated over the full season, he will turn out as a very good young pass rusher.
Getting solid production would be a very nice start to the Jonathan Gannon era.
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