This sack of Ryan Tannehill in Week 6, which led to a forced fumble, was an exceedingly ugly rep for left tackle Ty Sambrailo. You can’t be late to your set like this against someone of Watt’s ability to generate power at the turn, and this screams sack all the way. Yes, it’s an all-out blitz, but Sambrailo just gets nuked on this one-on-one. The Titans, who have their own pass-rush issues, should be on the phone with Watt’s agent with quickness and intensity.
Speaking of power at the turn, there’s this sack of Philip Rivers in Week 15. This time, left tackle Chaz Green is Watt’s Huckleberry, and watch how Watt just long-arms Green into the pocket, swims his way around the blocker, and finds Rivers for the takedown.
Watt sacked Lamar Jackson twice in Week 2. The second came in a wide alignment against right tackle Orlando Brown, who at least gets his feet to the target, but isn’t as aggressive with his hands as he should be. What you still see from Watt, over and over, is a furious desire to take merciless advantage of any blocker’s weak points.
So, the fact that the Texans let J.J. Watt walk has a great deal more to do with the Texans’ own dysfunction (and Watt’s $17.5 million cap hit in the final year of his contract) than any hint of “doneness” with Watt’s talent. As a multi-gap enforcer with actual talent around him, Watt could well be ready to end his remarkable career with quite the Renaissance.
What does this do for the Cardinals? Well, Golden and Reddick are impending free agents, so his addition could take the sting out of any departures. In addition, Joseph might not have to blitz as much as he did in 2020 to create pressure, which would be an absolute boon for a secondary that was overmatched in 2020 far more often than it was not.
In Kliff Kingsbury’s two seasons as the Cardinals’ head coach, Arizona’s defense has allowed 64 passing touchdowns, and picked off just 17 passes. Patrick Peterson, the longtime legend of Arizona’s secondary, is also set to become a free agent, and allowed five touchdowns to three picks in 2020. 2019 second-round cornerback Byron Murphy has allowed 12 touchdowns to just one interception in his brief career. Veteran Dre Kirkpatrick was the only cornerback on the roster who put up a credible performance, and until that changes, it doesn’t matter how dynamic Kingsbury’s offense is — he’s going to be scheming from behind more often than not.
So, in addition to adding more and better cornerbacks in free agency, the addition of Watt — if he’s able to play at a plus level — gives the team more options to build a defense that, matched with the ideal version of Kingsbury’s offense, might just push this franchise over the top in the NFC West and beyond.