With all the success the Arizona Cardinals have had this season, one thing bothers some fans. After he was declared the Week 1 starter when he was drafted 16th overall in this year’s draft, rookie linebacker Zaven Collins has seen his playing time on defense basically disappear.
When on the field, he has made plays. He has also made rookie mistakes. His PFF grades have looked good so for fans it is frustrating to see him not play.
One way of thinking is that he needs to play to get better. Cardinals fans will remember the seasons of the early 2000s when they let young players like Karlos Dansby, Darnell Dockett and others make mistakes. Of course, they were also losing a lot of games then.
Sink or swim, right?
This coaching staff doesn’t believe in that completely.
“A lot of people say, ‘Just put him in and let him make the mistake,'” said linebackers coach Billy Davis, according to The Athletic’s Robert May. “You make mistakes and lose games for us, you’re not liked in the locker room. You’re not. You don’t like yourself, and you’re not liked. It’s a society of productivity.”
Davis doesn’t view Collins’ demotion/Tanner Vallejo’s promotion as a setback. Mays wrote “Davis sees scaling back the work as a normal part of the development cycle rather than a setback in how Collins has progressed.”
The fact of the matter is the Cardinals have big plans for the season. With what is at stake right now, they can’t afford his growing pains. Simplify, they are too good for his mistakes. In 2019, it would have been different. Not this year.
The approach worked last season with Isaiah Simmons.
The goal is for Collins to become a big-time player. They don’t have to sacrifice their success in 2021 for his success down the line.
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