Arizona Cardinals tackle D. J. Humphries considers himself one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL.

What tier of “best” might be debatable, according to Pro Football Focus.

The 6-foot-5 Humphries came in at No. 26 on PFF’s ranking of the 32 best tackles ahead of the 2021 NFL season. While that may seem low for a player who many within the Cardinals organization thought deserved Pro Bowl consideration, it does consider a lot of upside.

Something clicked in Humphries’ game in Week 5 of 2020. On the road against the New York Jets, he had one of the best performances of the season at the position, recording an astounding 93.1 PFF grade. From that point on, Humphries was the highest-graded tackle in the NFL and allowed just 12 total pressures in the last 12 games.

Last season, Humphries started all 16 games for the Cardinals and was a part of every Arizona offensive snap.

During the course of the 2020 season, Humphries allowed just three sacks to his quarterback, had seven penalties called on him and finished with 23 total pressures allowed.

The 2015 first-round pick ended his 2020 campaign with an overall PFF grade of 88.3.

His run-blocking grade for the year spiked nearly 40 grading points from 2019. If this new Humphries is here to stay, you can bet on him climbing up this list, but it is obviously no guarantee given what we saw from him up until that point in his career.

In five seasons for the Cardinals, Humphries has started in 59 games.

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