PFF’s Sikkema pinpoints the Cardinals’ biggest remaining hole
The Arizona Cardinals spammed additions to the defensive front this offseason. So what position group might have the most unfinished work left?
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The bulk of roster-shuffling is over this NFL offseason. The Arizona Cardinals spammed additions to the defensive front in both free agency and the NFL Draft, and the next major opportunity to find rotation talent outside of floating free agents is the 53-man roster cutdowns before the season.
If we pull back the microscope to judge the entire roster at this point in May, what position group might have the most unfinished work left?
Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema sees a question on the interior of the offensive line:
The Cardinals put together a solid offseason, including the draft, but their interior offensive line could still use more juice. Hjalte Froholdt and Evan Brown at center and left guard, respectively, were serviceable with 76.9 and 69.5 PFF pass-blocking grades in 2024. But Isaiah Adams struggled at right guard. It will be those same three at the top of the depth chart heading into the season.
By PFF’s metrics, Adams ranked as the 56th-best run-blocker among the 136 guards qualified, a reason the run-heavy Cardinals might be willing to give him time to develop. The third-round pick in 2024 was 93rd in pass-blocking.
By the end of the 2024 season, he had piled up 462 offensive snaps after veteran Will Hernandez started the first five games of the season before finding himself on injured reserve with an ACL injury.
Even if Isaiah Adams is the a starting guard for the Arizona Cardinals, depth is still a question
Hernandez remains a free agent with recovery still in progress. Arizona’s guard rotation will return Evan Brown to the left side after his first year with the Cardinals was followed by a two-year contract signing in March.
On the right side, Adams could receive a push for the starting job from 2025 sixth-round pick Hayden Conner and Jon Gaines II, a fourth-round pick in 2023 who has not cracked the rotation so far.
The Cardinals’ offensive line features Hjalte Froholdt at center and Brown at left guard, but the pair has experience playing each other’s position.
An injury to Froholdt, however, would potentially swing Brown into center duty, and that is where the guard depth could be problematic. Arizona does have backups with significant NFL playing experience, like Nick Leverett and Royce Newman, among those rostered and ready to earn a spot as a backup.
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Comments
16 Comments
LOL. No it's not. We have an excellent RB room and if we don't have an OL that can run block then a fast RB is wasted because those types are generally smaller and can't power through the line like Connor. Petzing has made it pretty clear that a fast deep threat is not a priority for him, it isn't part of his playbook and again, if the Ol can't pass protect then Kyler has no time to throw deep balls anyway. PFF has it right. OL needs improvement.
Quarterback. This is the year Kyler Murray MUST prove to the "nay-sayers" (like me) that he is the talent that Kliff Kingsbury believed him to be. Failure to "come of age"in YEAR 7 will mean that that Cardinals will need to address that "hole" in 2026. Oh how much I am hoping for Murray and "The Birds" to meet Kingsbury and Damiels in the 2025 NFL PostSeason.
You say its not, but you cant name a player with speed at all. Well done. Monti obviously like Adams and the rest of the OL room while trying to sign Hernandez. PFF had the O line graded top 15 last year so its not the weakness you think it is. Kyler is the weakness.