The Arizona Cardinals pushed nearly all their chips into the defensive front this offseason with multiple big-name free agent signings, as well as devoting all but one of their draft picks to the defensive side of the ball.
Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson believes the identity of the team starts there.
“This is going to be a defensive-lead team,” Thompson said on Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Thursday. “We were in a lot of games last year with the defense, and we could have won more games if we had a little more. This year should be a little different.
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“We have some new guys on the defensive line, and in the DBs room that are all ready to go. They’re intentional, they come to practice, they’re consistent. I think that should be really good for us.”
The Cardinals’ biggest additions to the defensive front include Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell. And much like Thompson’s underdog mentality, the unit feels poised to prove naysayers wrong behind the creative defensive mind of coordinator Nick Rallis.
“I feel like the play calling and him just being a leader as a coach has evolved,” Thompson said. “I feel like he is growing as well. He is a young coach, and we are all growing together. There are going to be opportunities out there for the coaching staff, for defensive players, for the whole team.”
Jalen Thompson and the Cardinals’ high standard at DB
The defensive front wasn’t the only part of the unit upgraded this offseason, with the Cardinals bringing in rookie cornerbacks Will Johnson and Denzel Burke.
For Thompson, it’s all about bringing along the young guys and living up to the high standard that Gannon, who cut his teeth as a defensive backs coach early on in his NFL career, has for the secondary.
“We feel like we are the best group in the building,” Thompson said. “We have to hold ourselves to that standard. That is how we are going to win some games this year, by putting the team on our back and going out there and making some plays.”
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