PFF: Cardinals have NFL’s 15th-best defensive front

That the Arizona Cardinals could stand to improve along the defensive line — at least when it comes to generating a pass rush — is not exactly new or a secret.

Pretty much from the moment the 2015 season came to an end the team’s primary goal was to get better pressure more consistently, ideally without having to blitz.

So, in March, the Cardinals traded guard Jonathan Cooper and a second-round pick to New England for Chandler Jones, whose 12.5 sacks last season led the New England Patriots.

A Pro Bowler, Jones has 36 sacks in four NFL seasons along with 211 tackles, 10 forced fumbles and an interception.

His addition alone would, in theory, boost Arizona’s pass rush. The Cardinals were not done adding to the defensive front, however, as they chose Ole Miss lineman Robert Nkemdiche with their first-round draft pick.

A physical specimen, Nkemdiche is seen as the kind of player who — if playing at the top of his game — could be one of the more dominant players in the NFL.

The high-profile newcomers join a group that already featured Pro Bowler Calais Campbell as well as solid contributors Frostee Rucker, Rodney Gunter, Markus Golden, Deone Bucannon, Kevin Minter and Alex Okafor.

Put it all together and what do you have? According to ProFootballFocus.com, the 15th-best defensive front seven in the NFL.

Key stat: Arizona allowed 0.71 yards per carry before contact in base defense last season, the best average in the league.

Lauded as trailblazers for converting Deone Bucannon to linebacker from safety, the Cardinals have somewhat of a patchwork front-seven with quality players like Calais Campbell and new acquisition Chandler Jones sharing the field with the subpar Kevin Minter, who doesn’t appear to have the competition he needs to motivate his improvement or get him out of the lineup. Chandler Jones’ (Patriots) acquisition finally gives the Cardinals a threat off the edge to pair with Markus Golden, whose rookie season was the most productive by a first-year edge rusher since 2011.

Arizona’s run defense ranked sixth in the NFL last season in yards allowed, and ninth in yards per attempt.

And clearly, PFF doesn’t seem to be as high on Minter as the Cardinals are.

Finally healthy and a starter for the first time in his NFL career, Minter notched 110 total tackles — including 13 tackles for loss — along with half a sack, six passes defensed, one forced fumble and five QB hits. The former 2013 secound-round pick out of LSU entered the NFL with a reputation for being a two-down linebacker, but last season proved to be more than just a run-stopper.

As for Golden, the 2015 second-round pick out of Missouri certainly impressed, with four sacks, 16 QB pressures and 14 QB hits as a rookie.

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