Tag: Rashard Lawrence

Jordan Phillips calls rookie Rashard Lawrence ‘best D-lineman I’ve seen in a long time’

The Cardinals’ big free agent addition believes the Cardinals have a Day 3 gem in Lawrence.

The Arizona Cardinals selected two defensive linemen in the fourth round of the 2020 draft in addition to signing veteran Jordan Phillips to a three-year deal in free agency. They hoped to upgrade their defensive front seven.

Phillips believes the Cardinals might have found an impact player in Rashard Lawrence, the second of their two fourth-round picks.

Phillips has been extremely impressed by Lawrence.

“He already seems like he’s a vet,” Phillips told reporters this week. “He comes off the ball so hard. He uses his hands so well. He’s already making a lot of plays. He just does things you would expect a rookie to do,”

He even had a conversation with defensive line coach Brentson Buckner about Lawrence. He couldn’t believe that Lawrence was available in the fourth round of the draft.

“He’s the best D-lineman I’ve seen in a while,” he recalls telling Buckner. “I know that’s high praise for a rookie, but just his mechanics, his technique, it’s already out of the roof.

“The sky’s the limit for him.”

The Cardinals loved his mentality and his leadership coming out of LSU, where he was a three-year captain. If Phillips’ praise isn’t just training camp hyperbole, the Cardinals might have landed themselves a gem of a player on Day 3 and a player who can help turn around a defense that was one of the worst in the league in 2019.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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and

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LOOK: Cardinals draft picks all officially sign contracts

All six signed on the dotted line and had photos taken of the event.

The Arizona Cardinals and their entire 2019 draft class agreed to terms on four-year rookie contracts earlier in the week. On Saturday, their deals were made official when they went down to team headquarters in Tempe and signed the contracts.

The team released photos of each player signing their deal.

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The only contract specifics we know are about their two top picks, linebacker Isaiah Simmons and tackle Josh Jones.

Simmons’ deal is for more than $20.6 million over the four years and has a fifth-year team option. He received nearly $12.6 million in a signing bonus.

Jones’ deal is worth more than $4.8 million over the four seasons and he receives a signing bonus of nearly $1.08 million.

The other players the Cardinals drafted were defensive linemen Leki Fotu and Rashard Lawrence, both drafted in the fourth round, linebacker Evan Weaver, their sixth-round pick, and running back Eno Benjamin, selected in the seventh round.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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and

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Cardinals agree to terms with all 6 draft picks

All the draft picks are now under contract, as rookies had to report to training camp Tuesday.

The Arizona Cardinals have taken care of the contracts of all six of their 2020 draft picks. Rookies were scheduled to report to training camp Tuesday and on Wednesday the team announced all six draft pick have agreed to terms on four-year contracts.

First-round pick Isaiah Simmons’ deal as well as third-round pick Josh Jones’ were both reported on Tuesday with the financials.

Their 2020 draft class was as follows:

Round 1: LB Isaiah Simmons, Clemson

Round 3: OT Josh Jones, Houston

Round 4: DL Leki Fotu, Utah

Round 4: DL Rashard Lawrence, LSU

Round 6: LB Evan Weaver, California

Round 7: RB Eno Benjamin, Arizona State

This is the latest the Cardinals have gotten their draft picks in many years but things were complicated this offseason with facilities being closed to players because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Implications for the salary cap are not yet known exactly for the contracts other than Simmons’ and Jones’.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 269

Ep. 268

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Ep. 267

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Cardinals’ biggest steal of 2020 draft isn’t who you think it is

It isn’t either Isaiah Simmons or Josh Jones.

The Arizona Cardinals appear to have had a good NFL draft this year. They landed a number of players at value positions. Their first pick, Isaiah Simmons, was not expected to be available with the eighth overall pick. Tackle Josh Jones, whom they selected in the third round, was believed by many to be a first-round talent.

Jones probably would be considered by most to be the Cardinals’ biggest steal of the draft.

According to Draft Wire managing editor Luke Easterling, he isn’t. The Cardinals’ biggest steal will surprise you. It is defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence.

How is this possible?

It is simple math. Easterling had him ranked 86 spots ahead of where he was drafted.

Jones was a steal in the third round. He was ranked 44 spots higher than the No. 72 pick the Cardinals used to select him.

If we are going by straight math, Lawrence wasn’t even the biggest steal. That player would be running back Eno Benjamin, selected in the seventh round with the 222nd pick. He was ranked 89 spots higher.

Lawrence should be a part of the defensive line rotation as a rookie. How much will he impact the defense? That remains to be seen, but his mentality and physicality should be a welcome addition to the defensive line.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 268

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Ep. 267

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6 things we learned in the new episode of Cardinals Flight Plan

Check out some insights about the draft in the latest episode.

The Arizona Cardinals released a new episode of Flight Plan on Thursday focused on the 2020 draft and their six selected players. In the episode, we learn a few things about the process and the players.

What specifically did we learn?

Kliff Kingsbury was sold on Isaiah Simmons after combine interview

Clemson Pregame Bc

Simmons impressed the Cardinals in the interview with how he was able to break down his assignment and with his confidence.

After the interview was over, Kingsbury told the rest of the room, “I’m good with that one at eight, if y’all are.”

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New Cardinals DL Rashard Lawrence seeking championship trifecta

He won a state title in high school and a national title last year with LSU. Can he bring a championship to the Cardinals?

The Arizona Cardinals selected defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence in the fourth round of the NFL draft. He was a three-year captain and a leader on the LSU national champion team.

He has the opportunity to do something not a lot of football players get to do — win a championship at every level.

That is his goal.

“I’ve won a State Championship and I’ve now won a National Championship as well,” he told Draft Wire’s Justin Melo in an interview before the draft. “I wanna pick up that Lombardi trophy next. I have to keep the streak going. I need to be a Super Bowl champion. I’m gonna come in and work my butt off to make that happen.”

Lawrence believes he has the production, talent and intangibles to contribute to a championship team.

“I think Rashard Lawrence is gonna bring the ability to stop the run and the ability to push the pocket on all three downs,” he said. “More importantly, Rashard Lawrence is gonna be a hard worker and bring some great leadership to the table. I’m gonna prove that I belong wherever I go. Whether I get drafted early or late, I’m gonna bring my intangibles with me and work extremely hard to reward the organization that decides to pick me.”

He should be able to step in as a rotational player even as a rookie to contribute on defense.

The Cardinals have only won eight games combined in the last two seasons. Adding more winners to the roster will only help.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 266

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Ep.265

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Rookie-year expectations for the Cardinals’ 6 draft picks

Only Isaiah Simmons will be expected to be an impact player overall as a rookie.

Now that the Arizona Cardinals have their draft picks and now it is time to look forward to what they can do in the season, we should have reasonable expectations for each player.

What are reasonable expectations from theses players in their rookie season?

LB Isaiah Simmons

Simmons has the biggest expectations of any of the Cardinals’ draft pick, and he should, as he was the eighth overall pick in the draft.

Simmons should be an impact player in defense. He probably will not start in base defensive packages but should play a number of roles and will have the opportunity to do a lot of things. He should be a sub-package player coming in to cover tight ends and running backs and rush the passer.

He should play a lot and make a lot of plays.

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The college accomplishments of the Cardinals’ draft picks

The six players had pretty good college resumes. The Cardinals drafted two conference defensive players of the year and six captains.

Over the last week, we have covered in detail the Arizona Cardinals’ six draft picks, who they are20nd what they say. Let’s look back at the things they accomplished while they were in college and see what honors and awards they earned.

LB Isaiah Simmons

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  • He was the 2019 Butkus Award winner for the nation’s top linebacker.
  • He was a unanimous First-Team All-American.
  • He was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
  • He was named to the All-ACC first team.
  • He was a team captain in 2019.

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What to like and what not to like about each of the Cardinals’ draft picks

There is good to each pick. There are questions, too.

The Arizona Cardinals came away with six players in the NFL draft over the weekend. They have largely been praised for the players they selected.

However, one can criticize all the decisions they made in the draft.

Let’s go over what there is to like and what there is not to like about each pick.

Isaiah Simmons

Clemson Charlotte Football

What to like about the pick

Simmons was obviously one of the draft’s most talented and dynamic players. His combination of leadership, production, size, length, speed and explosiveness is rare. His ability to cover at his size could be a game-changer for the Cardinals defense, giving them the ability to cover up flaws and weaknesses of other players. He can rush off the edge, cover in space, blitz, tackle and basically everything.

What not to like about the pick

There isn’t so much concern with the player. However, the Cardinals did draft a player who doesn’t have a place to start right now. It will be up to Vance Joseph to utilize him in a way that allows him to show off his versatility.

Also, the Cardinals potentially miss out on a top tackle prospect. There also might have been the opportunity to trade down, select receiver CeeDee Lamb and pick up a second-round pick. Would the combination of someone like Lamb and someone in the second round have a bigger impact than Simmons alone? That is the question that needs to be answered.

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Cardinals announced jersey numbers for draft picks

Isaiah Simmons will wear No. 48.

The Arizona Cardinals wasted no time after the NFL draft to assign uniforms to their six draft picks. Saturday night, they tweeted out the number each will wear on their backs, at least initially.

  • LB Isaiah Simmons will wear No. 48.
  • OT Josh Jones will wear No. 79.
  • DL Leki Fotu will wear No. 95.
  • DL Rashard Lawrence will wear No. 92.
  • LB Evan Weaver will wear No. 50.
  • RB Eno Benjamin will wear No. 26.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep.265

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Ep. 264

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