Prior to this month's draft, 1SBD's Mark Hogan takes an in-depth look into each team's current projected starters and identifies strengths and lingering team needs after the first waves of free agency.
Player stats collected from Pro Football Reference. Base salary information per Over The Cap.
TAKEAWAYS
PROS
- Have the Cardinals finally got a guy to play across from Patrick Peterson at cornerback? It looked like the team would trade back in the draft and maybe go after LSU’s Greedy Williams, but that hole was filled when the team signed Robert Alford to a 3-year deal in February. The Cardinals were also able to avoid the record-setting safety sweepstakes in free agency by reuniting with DJ Swearinger via a waiver claim. The 28-year-old defensive back was unexpectedly cut from the Redskins for being too vocal about Washington’s defensive scheme.
CONS
- Despite investing plenty of draft capital in the position, Arizona has failed to re-sign a wide receiver after his rookie deal since Larry Fitzgerald was drafted in 2004. Last year's second round pick Christain Kirk could finally be the first guy to achieve that, but ultimately the Cardinals need to do a better job finding players they love. Kirk was in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation before being placed on IR in December and depth behind him is extremely thin. Chicago draft bust and eternally-injured wide receiver Kevin White might not make the Cardinals roster and 2017 third round pick Chad Williams has shown no effectiveness. Many fans hope the team can land local product N'Keal Harry with the 33rd overall pick in the Draft and attack with a more competitive wide receiver corps in 2019. And maybe with a duo likely to stick around for more than a couple of years.
- Arizona chose potential over reliability when they signed linebacker Jordan Hicks instead of retaining former first round pick Deone Bucannon. Hicks has proved to be a stand-out player when on the field, but health is an issue. The former Eagle has ended up on IR twice in his four-year career – 2015 and 2017 – and missed a total of 21 games in four seasons. Bucannon meanwhile has missed ten games in five seasons, and remained a valuable piece in Arizona’s defense after being drafted 27th overall in 2014. After a down year under former head coach Steve Wilks in 2018, the team may have moved on too soon.
Projected Starters
NOTE:
NAME, Draft Round.Overall Pick (TEAM, year). Starts/Games Played. Age. Cap Hit 2019
QB has an additional 'total yards, number of attempts (yards per attempt)' figure.
RB, WR and TE have an additional ‘total yards / number of touches (yards per touch)’ statistic
Age as of Sunday September 8, 2019 (Week 1)
QUARTERBACK
JOSH ROSEN, 1.10 (AZ, 2018). 13/14. 2,278 yards/ 393 attempts. (5.8 y/a). 22-years-old. $3,999,491
RUNNING BACK
DAVID JOHNSON, 3.86 (AZ, 2015). 38/49. 4,632 yards/ 859 touches (5.4). 27-years-old. $9,750,000
WIDE RECEIVER
LARRY FITZGERALD, 1.03 (AZ, 2004). 232/234. 16,347 yards/ 1,323 touches (12.4). 36-years-old. $11,250,000
CHRISTIAN KIRK, 2.47 (AZ, 2018). 7/12. 625 yards/ 46 touches (13.6). 22-years-old. $1,339,744
KEVIN WHITE, 1.07 (CHI, 2015). 5/14. 294 yards/ 26 touches (11.3). 27-years-old. $1,478,125
Average: 19th overall pick. 244 starts/ 260 games played (93.8%). 17,266 yards/ 1,395 touches (12.4). 28.3-years-old. Total cap hit: $14.1M
TIGHT END
CHARLES CLAY, 6.174 (MIA, 2011). 3,646 yards/ 346 touches (10.5). 100/112. 30-years-old. $1,906,250
OFFENSIVE LINE
DJ HUMPHRIES, 1.24 (AZ, 2015). 27/27. 25-years-old. $9,625,000
J.R. SWEEZY, 7.225 (SEA, 2012). 78/88. 30-years-old. $3,968,750
MASON COLE, 3.97 (AZ, 2018). 16/16. 23-years-old. $795,879
JUSTIN PUGH, 1.19 (NYG, 2013). 70/70. 29-years-old. $7,375,000
MARCUS GILBERT, 2.63 (PIT, 2011). 87/88. 31-years-old. $4,915,103
Average: 86th overall pick. 278 starts/ 289 games played (96.2%). 27.6-years-old. Total cap hit: $26.7M
DEFENSIVE LINE
COREY PETERS, 3.83 (ATL, 2010). 96/113. 31-years-old. $4,656,250
ROBERT NKEMDICHE, 1.29 (AZ, 2016). 6/27. 24-years-old. $2,736,552
DARIUS PHILON, 6.192 (LAC, 2015). 19/54. 25-years-old. $3,000,000
Average: 101st overall pick. 121 starts/ 194 games played (62.4%). 26.7-years-old. Total cap hit: $10.4M
LINEBACKER
CHANDLER JONES, 1.21 (NE, 2012). 100/103. 29-years-old. $19,500,000
JORDAN HICKS, 3.84 (PHI, 2015). 40/43. 27-years-old. $6,275,000
HAASON REDDICK, 1.13 (AZ, 2017). 15/32. 24-years-old. $3,675,865
TERRELL SUGGS, 1.10 (BAL, 2003). 213/229. 36-years-old. $5,000,000
Average: 32nd overall pick. 368 starts/ 407 games played (90.4%). 29 -years-old. Total cap hit: $34.5M
CORNERBACK
ROBERT ALFORD, 2.60 (ATL, 2013). 76/88. 30-years-old. $6,000,000
PATRICK PETERSON, 1.5 (AZ, 2011). 128/128. 29-years-old. $11,884,588
Average: 33rd overall pick. 204 starts/ 216 games played (94.4%). 29.5-years-old. Total cap hit: $17.9M
SAFETY
BUDDA BAKER, 2.36 (AZ, 2017). 20/30. 23-years-old. $1,862,719
D.J. SWEARINGER, 2.57 (HOU, 2013). 66/90. 28-years-old. $4,484,375
Average: 47th overall pick. 86 starts/ 120 games played (71.7%). 25.5-years-old. Total cap hit: $6.3M
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