When the Arizona Cardinals selected linebacker Zaven Collins in the first round of the 2021 draft, they anticipated him being the starting “MIKE” inside linebacker, quarterbacking the defense and giving the playcalls and getting the microphone in the helmet.
Thus far, that has not been the case. Collins is slated to be a starting inside linebacker but is not slated to be the defensive playcaller, at least for now.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday that they are working through who will ultimately do it, but that there are “four to five guys” he is comfortable with giving that job to.
Who has that job right now? It is safety Jalen Thompson.
“I have the mic in my helmet so I’m calling all the plays,” he told reporters Wednesday after practice.
It is unconventional to have a safety have the mic in the helmet to get the calls from the defensive coordinator. A linebacker is traditionally the one to do it, as he can more easily line up the defensive front.
But, according to Thompson, there are benefits to having a safety do it.
“I feel like if I’m calling it, I can get (the calls) out to the DBs a little bit quicker,” he said.
The experiment started in the offseason.
“We did it a little bit in the spring and it looked pretty good so they just been keeping it in my helmet so far,” he said.
He said that the plan, at least for now, is to have him continue to do it.
He is in his fourth season in the defensive system. It will allow Collins to focus on making plays rather than calling them as he enters Year 2.
Fellow linebacker Isaiah Simmons will have too varied a role — the team plans to use him at linebacker, off the edge and aft safety — to ask him to call plays, while Budda Baker has suggested that as much as he has to run around, it would get difficult for him.
As Thompson enters the final year of his contract, adding this responsibility to his resume could potentially help him secure a long-term deal.
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