Arizona Cardinals Depth Chart
- NFC West
- Stadium
- State Farm Stadium
- Head Coach
- Kliff Kingsbury
- Offensive Coordinator
- Kliff Kingsbury
- Defensive Coordinator
- Vance Joseph
- Special Teams Coach
- Jeff Rodgers
- Defensive Scheme
- 4-3
Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said it's fair to assume that linebackers Isaiah Simmons (last year's first-round pick) and Zaven Collins (this year's first-rounder) will line up together as starters this season. It means that Jordan Hicks is the odd-man out, and it was reported this week that the organization has given Hicks permission to seek a trade. It doesn't mean that a trade will happen, but Hicks' role would be significantly downgraded if he were to remain with the Cardinals. Collins was taken 16th overall by Arizona in this year's draft and will give the team plenty of versatility as another defensive chess piece.
The Arizona Cardinals have given linebacker Jordan Hicks permission to seek a trade, according to a source. The Cardinals selected linebacker Zaven Collins with the 16th overall pick in the first round of this year's draft, and he will be the starting Mike linebacker in his rookie season. Hicks took a $3 million pay cut and will now make $2 million in base salary with a chance to make $1 million in 2021. It's possible that he'll remain with the team as a reserve linebacker, but first he'll gauge the market. Hicks also has $2 million available this season in playing-time incentives. The 28-year-old signed with Arizona in 2019, and he finished with 118 tackles and four passes defensed last season.
With the 49th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals have selected Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore. Moore's an explosive receiver who can make big plays with the ball in his hands. He's played just seven games over the past two years, but as a freshman in 2018, Moore had 1,471 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns. It would be nice if we'd seen him perform since 2018, but the physical profile is there for him. He'll have a tough time getting on the field early on for a Cardinals team that has DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green, and Christian Kirk at receiver, but the Cardinals do like to run some four-receiver sets. Still, this isn't an ideal landing spot for fantasy.
The Arizona Cardinals selected Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft on Thursday night. Collins is a chess piece on defense with size, so the Cardinals will have plenty of options between him and linebacker Isaiah Simmons, who was taken in the first round last year. His skill set definitely fits in the NFL, but it'll be a question as to where Collins actually plays, and he might wind up being too big to play linebacker. Collins has a savvy for playing zone coverage and moves smoothly in space in the middle of the field, but he's not a sideline-to-sideline player at the next level. But Collins has plenty of athletic ability and upside as a pass-rusher for Arizona.
Arizona Cardinals right tackle Marcus Gilbert announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday on his Twitter page. Gilbert was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round in 2011 out of the University of Florida. He played in eight seasons for the Steelers before being traded to the Cardinals in 2019 for a sixth-round pick. Gilbert missed the entire 2019 season because of a knee injury and opted out of 2020 due to concerns over COVID-19, so he never actually played a down with Arizona. The 6-foot-6, 330-pound offensive lineman played in just 12 games combined with the Steelers in his final two seasons in Pittsburgh, and Gilbert managed to play in just two full seasons (2013, 2015) in his NFL career.