Cardinals Comfortable With Pass Rush - But Should They Be?

The Arizona Cardinals and the outside world are split on how their edge group will perform.

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins (25) during player introductions before facing the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Nov. 26, 2023. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

ARIZONA -- Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon has a strong and easy to root for personality.

Gannon's interactions with reporters are mostly positive and filled with fun - he's earned the respect of those locally and nationally.

Yet Gannon won't mince words, either. He's convicted on his roster, for better or worse in all its flaws, and he'll go to battle for his guys.

That includes defending the roster - top to bottom - in front of a microphone.

Much has been made about Arizona's edge room, which was already considered thin prior to the season-ending injury to outside linebacker BJ Ojulari.

There's massive questions if the Cardinals can improve from their total of 33 team sacks last season (which ranked 30th of 32 NFL teams) - but Gannon has answers.

"I'm comfortable. I am. I know you guys might not be comfortable, but that's okay. That's your opinion," Gannon said on his pass rush.

"We're going to figure out, with what we have going into Buffalo, we'll put a plan together that is the best thing for our players and our team to win the game. And that can look 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 with who we have to make sure that we can have success."

The thing is - it's not just coach speak. Gannon is 100% convinced the Cardinals will get after the passer frequently with their group of players.

To his side of the coin, he's seen his group of guys closer than anybody else on the planet. Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort also has ample opportunity to go snag an additional presence in the room - and with the two being in "lockstep" on the roster - if Arizona truly felt like other resources were needed, a move would have already been made.

That's confidence in its purest form, though there's plenty of reason to be skeptical from the outside.

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The Cardinals weren't going to completely overhaul their roster in one offseason. The NFL's best teams have a few holes and weak spots, so to expect the Cardinals to patch all of their biggest needs in a stretch of a few months simply wasn't realistic.

Ossenfort did a strong job of tearing things down to the foundation last offseason, enacting a true first stage of a rebuild in the desert. This offseason followed much of the same blueprint in terms of talent acquisition and roster construction.

While plugging other holes elsewhere using capital in free agency and the NFL Draft, the Cardinals ultimately opted to not touch their outside linebacker's room.

Sure, first-round pick Darius Robinson (once he returns off IR) will help the pass rush as a defensive lineman, though the actual OLB room was largely stagnant this offseason.

After the dust of the offseason settled, it was clear the Cardinals banked on their top trio of edge rushers (Zaven Collins, Dennis Gardeck and Ojulari) all collectively taking the next step in production while also staying healthy.

It was a roll of the dice while other positions were injected with new talent - a known gamble that crapped out before the regular season even began.

Following Ojulari's knee injury, the Cardinals in fact did their due diligence on outside players. Arizona brought in Carl Lawson towards the end of camp before deciding not to sign him while the organization was thought to be (at minimum) intrigued with Matt Judon before the New England Patriots dealt him elsewhere.

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The Cardinals have potential in their edge group, undoubtedly. The fear however is that potential will be untapped in 2024 with their current slate of names ready to set the edge, especially with their highest-ceiling player (Ojulari) now being lost for the season.

The organization is in love with Collins as a person and player. First choosing to decline a near $14 million fifth-year option on his rookie contract, the Cardinals gave Collins a two-year extension at $7 million annually - essentially spreading what would have been the last year of his rookie contract across two seasons.

It was a reward for all of his hard work, though now there's clear expectations for Collins to make the jump as a starting pass rusher in this league. Collins' first year at the position (after being switched from ILB) was a tall task, but with another full offseason at the spot and a year's worth of experience, Collins needs to reach the quarterback at higher levels in 2024.

Switching over to the opposite side of the line, Gardeck has produced in various spurts and is a team captain in Arizona. His six sacks led the team last season but it feels like we know what Gardeck is as a player heading into his seventh year.

Cameron Thomas garnered three sacks in the final two weeks of preseason play - but was promptly dealt for a late-round pick ahead of final roster cuts. Not that Thomas was the answer to all of Arizona's problems, but it sure seemed like he could have been a rotational piece at minimum.

Perhaps there's untapped potential in guys such Jesse Luketa or Victor Dimukeje - and to be fair, rookie Xavier Thomas has been a bright spot for the Cardinals during preseason play.

Yet the overall sentiment remains - nearly everybody outside of the Cardinals' facility believes Arizona's pass rush is underwhelming at this point in time.

A room that was already questionable lost its player with the most promise, and until we see results that prove otherwise - we'll remain uncomfortable.