‘We’re going to be fine:’ Jonathan Gannon ‘comfortable’ with Cardinals pass rushers

TEMPE — The loss of starter BJ Ojulari and the inability to upgrade the outside linebacker position via free agency haven’t helped quiet any of the noise surrounding an Arizona Cardinals pass rush coming off a lackluster 33 sacks just a year prior.

From the outside looking in, question marks are aplenty and warranted less than two weeks out from the regular season.

Is general manager Monti Ossenfort planning to make a move? What is he waiting for? Does head coach Jonathan Gannon really trust in the pass rushers on the roster? Is the underspending a sign of another down year?

Gannon has heard the chatter circulating overhead but isn’t letting it consume his thoughts on the group’s potential.

“I’m comfortable. I am. I know you guys might not be comfortable but that’s OK. That’s your opinion,” Gannon said Wednesday. “We’re going to figure out with what we have going into Buffalo, we’re going to put a plan together that’s the best thing for our players and our team to win the game. That can look different in a lot of different ways.

“We’re drastically different than this team, than that team, than the other team. Everyone has different ways to do things and I think we’re going to be fine. It’s on the coaches to do a good job of who we have to make sure we can have success.”

Gannon’s comfortability likely isn’t where it was before Ojulari went down with a reported torn ACL. After all, he was tracking to start and had taken a noticeable jump heading into Year 2.

But the emergence and promise of rookie Xavier Thomas at least help limit some of the damage the room has sustained following the Ojulari news.

Thomas saw him rise up the depth chart this training camp, especially when given more opportunities after the Ojulari injury.

He carried that early camp work over into the preseason, registering a pair of sacks, two tackles for loss and four QB hits across two games played.

“He’s a natural pass rusher for certain,” defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said last Thursday. “He just has a natural feel to one, get off the rock. He’s fast. He’ll keep his legs moving throughout the whole rush which isn’t always easy.

“When you get to the point of attack, it’s easy to slow down, start to think. You take that shot from that tackle, that’ll slow your speed real quick. His motor is high.”

The 2024 fifth-round pick clearly showed enough to the coaching staff, with Arizona sitting the rookie in the preseason finale in preparation for the regular season.

But while Thomas achieved another NFL milestone Tuesday in the form of cracking the Cardinals’ 53-man roster, he knows the work is far from over.

“I can’t get too high on it, because I have a lot more expectations and goals for myself than going out there and just making the team,” Thomas said Wednesday. “I celebrated in that moment, but we still got a lot of work to do.”

What is expected to lead the Cardinals’ pass rush?

Thomas is bound to have his fair share of pass-rushing opportunities in 2024.

He, however, isn’t expected to lead the Cardinals’ pass rush in 2024.

Instead, that honor belongs to Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck, Arizona’s projected starting outside linebackers.

Transitioning from MIKE backer to pass rusher just a season ago, the coaching staff has been pleased with what Collins is putting on the tape, so much so that the defender earned a two-year contract extension during camp. The extra work he put in alongside Ojulari this past offseason has played a big part in his continued development.

It’s evident Arizona is banking on Collins to improve upon his 3.5 sacks and six tackles for loss from last year. Anything less is a failure.

Gardeck, on the other hand, is coming off a team-leading six sacks and seven tackles for loss in 17 games played (eight starts) last year. He’s caught fire in the past — seven sacks across 10 games in 2020 — but can he do so on a more consistent basis?

It was Collins who got the payday this camp, but it’s Gardeck who could very well lead the team in sacks for a consecutive season.

Who could sneak in off the edge?

A lot of people believe the Cardinals need to go outside the roster for pass-rushing talent.

But what about taking a look inward at the inside linebackers room?

While Mack Wilson Sr. is expected to be Kyzir White’s primary running mate along the inside, the Cardinals newcomer got an extended look coming off the edge last year for the New England Patriots.

The result was 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and four quarterback hits, all coming in five of the final games of the season.

He, at the very least, presents another option for Arizona to consider at pass rusher, especially if second-year pro Owen Pappoe can help fill the gap at inside linebacker in Wilson’s absence.

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