Cardinals’ revamped defense settling in as minicamp rolls on

It wasn’t hard putting two and two together this offseason: The Arizona Cardinals weren’t messing around when it came to revamping the defense.

Whether it be bringing in proven veterans up front with Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell or adding Walter Nolen III and Will Johnson in the 2025 NFL Draft, the vibes around the unit feel mightily different.

Darius Robinson and Walter Nolen III going back-to-back during Round 2 of Cardinals OTAs. pic.twitter.com/4HZWPW7gEy

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 3, 2025

Thanks to the heavy lifting put in this offseason, general manager Monti Ossenfort’s vision has gone from a priority to a reality (at least from a paper and practice standpoint) with minicamp underway.

“We wanted to be more disruptive on defense … just being disruptive on the ball, taking the ball away, creating negative plays, we wanted to do that,” the GM told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Wednesday. “We wanted to increase depth. We wanted to increase the talent level. We feel like we were able to do that with both veterans and younger players. That was a priority for us.

“The NFL season, it’s attrition and especially on the line of scrimmage. It’s hard to keep guys healthy and we’ve suffered from that. So, increasing both the depth and the talent level was definitely something that we wanted to do going into the offseason.”

Cardinals’ Josh Sweat ready to take the lead

Of Arizona’s offseason signings, Sweat marks the biggest.

Cardinals’ big-ticket signing and pass rusher Josh Sweat gets his first taste of practicing in the Arizona heat. pic.twitter.com/eNvbwWF4jD

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 10, 2025

Fresh off a Super Bowl victory where he racked up 2.5 sacks on Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Sweat brings with him a pass-rushing pedigree that has been missing from Arizona’s ranks in recent years.

His familiarity with both Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis from their time together in Philadelphia is an added bonus that can’t be forgotten, especially when looking at the 18.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss and 101 pressures the pass rusher had in his two seasons under his then-Eagles DC Gannon.

Sweat even knew a thing or two about Arizona’s training facility after the Eagles used the Cardinals’ Tempe HQ for Super Bowl prep.

Now playing for a defense that underwhelmed when rushing the passer — Zaven Collins paced the team with five sacks and 33 pressures — Sweat embraces being the main figurehead in Arizona’s new era of defense.

Josh Sweat not only sees himself as a leader of the Cardinals’ new movement defensively, he embraces it. pic.twitter.com/0lO7Z32IZl

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 11, 2025

“I’m just trying to be the best teammate, help however I can and just trying to get to know everybody body and stuff,” Sweat said Wednesday. “At that point, everybody a lot more comfortable around me. I’m getting more comfortable around them. At the end of the day, everybody should be a leader. You know what I’m saying? But I just want to help change whatever I can and make it better.”

It hasn’t taken long for his new teammates to see why Sweat has racked up the sacks, pressures and QB hits across seven seasons of work, either.

“When he speaks, you understand his level (of football knowledge),” Zaven Collins told Bickley & Marotta on Wednesday. “You can really understand someone’s knowledge of the game pretty quick and what they do, especially in a professional setting, and he said something I didn’t even think about. … He looks at it from a different way, a different perspective.”

After finishing 23rd in pressures (197) and tied for 13th in sacks (41), any new perspective is good for this Cardinals defense.

Brotherhood forming within new-look DL room

Outside of the massive addition to Arizona’s outside linebackers room, the defensive line saw a hefty influx of talent this offseason led by the trio of Tomlinson, Campbell and Nolen. And that’s without mentioning new defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere.

Another example of @Coach_DeBo46 bringing the energy to the Cardinals’ practice fields. pic.twitter.com/TmfyPsGDNQ

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 11, 2025

Tomlinson, Campbell and Nolen could start at some point or another this season, and that’s before even mentioning returning options Darius Robinson, Dante Stills and L.J. Collier, among others.

And while there’s plenty of excitement surrounding revamped room, the added competition means fewer roster spots.

Those inside the room, however, are more focused on growing together as a group rather than spreading apart.

“We already got a brotherhood,” Tomlinson said. “It was just natural thing young guys as well as old guys like me and Calais, we’re ready to work and get better. Like I was telling them today, we could learn stuff from the young guys just like we want them to learn stuff from us. It’s just back-and-forth learning across the board in our D-line room and everybody wants everybody to be successful.”

Among the biggest areas Tomlinson and the rest of the DL room must improve upon is stopping the run.

As a team, Arizona allowed 4.6 rushing yards per play in 2024 (eighth most in the NFL) and 60 runs of at least 10 yards (tied for 10th).

Eliminating the run game and letting Sweat and others pin their ears back is key in taking advantage of the plan Ossenfort put at the start of the offseason.

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