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Competition for jobs became even more intense at every level of the Arizona Cardinals defense after the first two rounds of the NFL draft.
Thursday, we highlighted the defensive line room after the selection of Walter Nolen III.
The addition Jordan Burch adds another edge rusher to that room following the re-signing of Baron Browning and adding Josh Sweat as an unrestricted free agent. Returning players are Zaven Collins, BJ Ojulari and 2024 fifth-round pick Xavier Thomas.
Burch and Thomas were teammates for one year in 2016 at Wilson High School in Florence, S.C., when Thomas was a junior and Burch a freshman. Each changed schools after that season.
At cornerback, the only other newcomer is Jaylon Jones, who was signed after the Chicago Bears did not tender him as a restricted free agent. That room also includes Sean Murphy-Bunting, Garrett Williams, Max Melton, Star Thomas V, Kei’Trel Clark and Elijah Jones.
Melton and Elijah Jones were second- and third-round picks, respectively, last season, although Jones was on injured reserve the entire season because of an ankle injury.
When asked how the team will manage the situation where there are so many edge rushers, general manager Monti Ossenfort said, “The next time I hear somebody say, we have too many edge rushers, it'll be the first time. That's a good problem to have. I think, with everything, competition brings out the best of all of them. The more the merrier there. We're excited to put those guys all in the room, let them loose and see what we can do.”
The traits Ossenfort identified in Burch were “size, length, power, the ability to collapse the pocket. He was productive. He missed a couple games and got dinged up with some injuries this year, but he was productive in the games he played and played against good people. He brings a unique skill set for a guy who's his size and length to be able to play on his feet and play out on the edge of the line of scrimmage.”
Burch (6-4, 279) played 10 games at Oregon last season and had 8.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
At the pre-draft press conference, Ossenfort talked about the new challenges the transfer portal has brought to scouting.
“It's a fact that is what we're dealing with now,” he said. “I don't think it's going away anytime soon. I think in some ways it's a challenge. Our scouts have to go to schools and maybe a player has only been there for a year, so they may not know the player as well as if a guy had been somewhere for three or four years. That's a challenge, but in some respects, I think we're getting players that may be more ready for the NFL. Guys have gone through transitions.
“You leave one school to go to another; that's a pretty big transition for a young kid to go through and we're about to ask them to make a really big transition to go from college to the NFL. Some of these guys have been through that so that helps. They've been experienced and I think another thing is these guys are making some sums of money now. There's a little bit of a track record of players that know how to act when they have some money in their bank account. There's positives, there's negatives. We can feel one way or another about it; it really doesn't matter. We have to deal with it. It's something that we've worked through, and we'll continue to do so.”
Ossenfort said Burch “is certainly a product of what’s going on in college football in general. He started his career at South Carolina and then moved on to Oregon. With that comes transition and you have to adjust to a new city, new scheme, new team and new teammates, so a lot goes into that. Jordan’s always been a talented player. Sometimes guys have to get in the right situation, the right scheme, the right fit and whatever it was that clicked for Jordan this year it certainly shined through.
“He was a fun guy to watch this year. That Oregon defense was really a good group to watch. (Head coach) Dan Lanning’s done a great job with those guys out there. They did a great job and Jordan certainly was a beneficiary of that. He took advantage of his opportunities.”
Nolen noted Thursday how transferring to Mississippi resulted in a better scheme fit and improved production.
As for Johnson, who played his entire career at Michigan, head coach Jonathan Gannon noted his “elite coverage instincts. Really like his ability to play the ball. He's long, he's a bigger guy. Very smart, very instinctive and tough. Then, I like his ability that he can walk up and challenge people and then play off as well and see the quarterback. He's played in multiple systems, and both of those systems were NFL-made systems under (Michigan defensive coordinator) Wink (Martindale) and (former Michigan defensive coordinator) Jesse Minter.
“That was really cool talking to him about the differences of styles of schemes and stuff. This guy's as smart as they come now, so we're really excited for him to come in here and compete.”
Gannon has no issue with Johnson being frustrated at being selected later than he expected in the draft.
“He'll get over it real quick, I think,” Gannon said. “I completely understand his emotions, but he’ll quickly realize when he steps in the building it's not where you get drafted, it’s what you do with it.”
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL draft: Arizona Cardinals create competition with draft picks
Continue reading...
Thursday, we highlighted the defensive line room after the selection of Walter Nolen III.
The addition Jordan Burch adds another edge rusher to that room following the re-signing of Baron Browning and adding Josh Sweat as an unrestricted free agent. Returning players are Zaven Collins, BJ Ojulari and 2024 fifth-round pick Xavier Thomas.
Burch and Thomas were teammates for one year in 2016 at Wilson High School in Florence, S.C., when Thomas was a junior and Burch a freshman. Each changed schools after that season.
At cornerback, the only other newcomer is Jaylon Jones, who was signed after the Chicago Bears did not tender him as a restricted free agent. That room also includes Sean Murphy-Bunting, Garrett Williams, Max Melton, Star Thomas V, Kei’Trel Clark and Elijah Jones.
Melton and Elijah Jones were second- and third-round picks, respectively, last season, although Jones was on injured reserve the entire season because of an ankle injury.
When asked how the team will manage the situation where there are so many edge rushers, general manager Monti Ossenfort said, “The next time I hear somebody say, we have too many edge rushers, it'll be the first time. That's a good problem to have. I think, with everything, competition brings out the best of all of them. The more the merrier there. We're excited to put those guys all in the room, let them loose and see what we can do.”
The traits Ossenfort identified in Burch were “size, length, power, the ability to collapse the pocket. He was productive. He missed a couple games and got dinged up with some injuries this year, but he was productive in the games he played and played against good people. He brings a unique skill set for a guy who's his size and length to be able to play on his feet and play out on the edge of the line of scrimmage.”
Burch (6-4, 279) played 10 games at Oregon last season and had 8.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
At the pre-draft press conference, Ossenfort talked about the new challenges the transfer portal has brought to scouting.
“It's a fact that is what we're dealing with now,” he said. “I don't think it's going away anytime soon. I think in some ways it's a challenge. Our scouts have to go to schools and maybe a player has only been there for a year, so they may not know the player as well as if a guy had been somewhere for three or four years. That's a challenge, but in some respects, I think we're getting players that may be more ready for the NFL. Guys have gone through transitions.
“You leave one school to go to another; that's a pretty big transition for a young kid to go through and we're about to ask them to make a really big transition to go from college to the NFL. Some of these guys have been through that so that helps. They've been experienced and I think another thing is these guys are making some sums of money now. There's a little bit of a track record of players that know how to act when they have some money in their bank account. There's positives, there's negatives. We can feel one way or another about it; it really doesn't matter. We have to deal with it. It's something that we've worked through, and we'll continue to do so.”
Ossenfort said Burch “is certainly a product of what’s going on in college football in general. He started his career at South Carolina and then moved on to Oregon. With that comes transition and you have to adjust to a new city, new scheme, new team and new teammates, so a lot goes into that. Jordan’s always been a talented player. Sometimes guys have to get in the right situation, the right scheme, the right fit and whatever it was that clicked for Jordan this year it certainly shined through.
“He was a fun guy to watch this year. That Oregon defense was really a good group to watch. (Head coach) Dan Lanning’s done a great job with those guys out there. They did a great job and Jordan certainly was a beneficiary of that. He took advantage of his opportunities.”
Nolen noted Thursday how transferring to Mississippi resulted in a better scheme fit and improved production.
As for Johnson, who played his entire career at Michigan, head coach Jonathan Gannon noted his “elite coverage instincts. Really like his ability to play the ball. He's long, he's a bigger guy. Very smart, very instinctive and tough. Then, I like his ability that he can walk up and challenge people and then play off as well and see the quarterback. He's played in multiple systems, and both of those systems were NFL-made systems under (Michigan defensive coordinator) Wink (Martindale) and (former Michigan defensive coordinator) Jesse Minter.
“That was really cool talking to him about the differences of styles of schemes and stuff. This guy's as smart as they come now, so we're really excited for him to come in here and compete.”
Gannon has no issue with Johnson being frustrated at being selected later than he expected in the draft.
“He'll get over it real quick, I think,” Gannon said. “I completely understand his emotions, but he’ll quickly realize when he steps in the building it's not where you get drafted, it’s what you do with it.”
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL draft: Arizona Cardinals create competition with draft picks
Continue reading...
