3. Arizona Cardinals
The addition of Chandler Jones is going to be huge for Arizona. If there was any area of this defense that struggled last season it was pressure from the EDGE positions.
Veteran Dwight Freeney led the team with eight sacks. After that, not a single returning member of this unit put up more than five sacks. Enter into the equation a player in Jones who recorded 12.5 sacks a season ago, and that’s an area the team addressed big time.
Doubling down on the pass-rush position, Arizona also added former Mississippi standout Robert Nkemdiche in the first round. He’s an ultra-talented defensive end with an ability to rack up double-digit sacks.
This is going to be huge for a secondary that’s right up there with Seattle and Denver as the best in the game. We already know about Patrick Peterson, but Tyrann Mathieu is quickly making a name for himself as the best ball-hawk in the entire league. He recorded 89 tackles, five interceptions and 18 passes defended a season ago.
With increased pass rush, the Cardinals should be even batter in terms of takeaways. That’s a scary proposition for opposing NFC West teams considering this unit forced 33 turnovers a season ago.