After getting relegated to the bench as an inside linebacker, Haason Reddick is going to get some looks as an outside linebacker over the last few weeks of the season. He has failed to develop at inside linebacker, so the team wants to “maximize him as a player and see what we can get there,” according to coach Kliff Kingsbury. “If that’s the answer, we’ll see how that plays out.”
This isn’t the first time he was asked to play as an edge defender in a 3-4 defense.
He played as a defensive end in college at Temple. His speed and athleticism made him a disruptive pass rusher. However, at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, he doesn’t have the length or the size that most edge defenders have.
That said, even though he was drafted with the intent to make him an inside linebacker, he did play extensively as a 3-4 outside linebacker his rookie season.
After playing the first four games inside, Markus Golden tore his ACL and was lost for the season. Reddick was moved to the edge because they had no depth at the position.
He was a rotational player, the No. 3 player at outside linebacker behind Chandler Jones and Kareem Martin.
In 12 games at outside linebackers as a rotational player, this is the production he had. Based on team stats compiled based on coaches’ film review, he has 16 total tackles (two for loss), 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, five quarterback hits and five other pressures. He did that in 261 snaps at the position. According to Pro Football Focus, he did not miss a tackle in those 12 games.
His role is similar to what Cassius Marsh now does. Marsh is the team’s third outside linebacker. How has he done this season?
In 12 games, he has played 284 snaps — basically the same amount of playing time Reddick had in 12 games in 2017. According to team stats, Marsh has 33 tackles (six for loss), one sack and three quarterback hits.
Comparing the two — Marsh a sixth-year rotational edge defender and Reddick a rookie in 2017 — Reddick’s pass-rushing production was greater. Marsh makes more plays overall, as he has double the tackles in the same amount of time that Reddick did, but Reddick was more disruptive, topping Marsh in sacks, QB hits and forced fumbles.
Because of Reddick’s size, he probably will not ever be able to be more than a rotational 3-4 outside linebacker. Considering he was drafted 13th overall, that is a huge disappointment. But if he can be a productive rotational player off the edge, he will still give the Cardinals value on defense.
Since his value dropped drastically by ending up on the bench, if he can show anything in a new role, the Cardinals could at least get something out of him.
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