Cardinals Safety Continues to be Overlooked

Jalen Thompson is still among some of the league's best safeties.

Sep 17, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson (34) celebrates his interception as it plays on the big screen against the New York Giants in the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic / Rob Schumacher / USA TODAY NETWORK

ARIZONA -- Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson continues to be one of the more overlooked players on the defensive side of the ball.

ESPN recently spoke with NFL coaches, executives and evaluators to form a top ten positional list as training camp nears, and Thursday's edition brought safety rankings.

Arizona saw one of their own in Budda Baker land at No. 6 (you can read more about that here), though Thompson was nowhere to be found.

That's not to say Thompson is deserving of top-ten consideration - because as good as Thompson is, he's certainly not among the league's elite company.

Yet Thompson wasn't in the seven "honorable mentions" under the top ten, nor did he receive any votes to be on the list among eight other safeties.

Those names include: Grant Delpit (Cleveland Browns), Tre'von Moehrig (Las Vegas Raiders), Ifeatu Melifonwu (Detroit Lions), Jaquan Brisker (Chicago Bears), Donovan Wilson ( Dallas Cowboys ), Alohi Gilman (Los Angeles Chargers), Geno Stone (Cincinnati Bengals) and Jabrill Peppers (New England Patriots).

You can make an argument that Thompson is on equal grounds or better than a few of those names. Is Thompson, in top form, the 26th-best safety in the league?

In terms of being underrated, he was listed as one of five Cardinals who fit the bill in our latest list:

"Thompson has missed just two games over the last three seasons. In that time period, he's registered at least 110 tackles in two of three seasons with eight of his nine career interceptions occurring in that span to pair with a whopping 24 pass deflections."

Playing next to one of the best in Baker certainly may overshadow him. The team's 4-13 record (while ranking near the bottom of most major statistical categories) from last season doesn't help, either.

Perhaps Thompson won't be one of the league's best-kept secrets for much longer if he continues his stellar play.