Cardinals’ Calais Campbell gets high marks in final PFF rankings
Jan 4, 2017, 8:14 AM
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff is sacked by Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Markus Golden, right, and defensive end Calais Campbell during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Even though sometimes it’s easy to miss interior line play in the NFL, Calais Campbell of the Arizona Cardinals stood out in 2016.
The 6-foot-8 defensive end finished the season with 53 tackles, eight sacks, forced two fumbles and recovered three. He also had his first career touchdown when he returned a fumble 53 yards for a score during a Week 15 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Campbell was especially dominant in the second half of the season, racking up six of his eight sacks in Arizona’s final eight games.
As a result of his stellar play, Campbell was ranked high by Pro Football Focus among interior defenders in 2016, finishing second in the analytics website’s final numbers.
Highest-graded interior defenders this season:
1. Aaron Donald, 95.6
2. Calais Campbell, 90.4
3. Ndamukong Suh, 88.4
4. Kawann Short, 87.7 pic.twitter.com/tn6D7dIgby— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 3, 2017
Campbell, 30, had three multi-sack games in 2016, marking the first time he’s accomplished the feat in his career, which began in 2008. Interestingly enough, despite having arguably his best season as a pro, Campbell did not earn a spot on the NFC Pro Bowl roster which was announced last month.
He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent, so it will be interesting to see if Campbell is back for another run in Arizona.
