Cardinals' Key Offensive Line Questions
photo courtesy of the Arizona Republic
By Walter Mitchell
My outstanding friend, Jace, on X has been tweeting some great threads regarding the Cardinals thus far this off-season. This morning, he demonstrated how the Cardinals' offensive line was the 4th worst in the NFL in "highest pressure rate allowed on drop-back passes in 2025.
The #Cardinals had the 4th highest pressure rate allowed on dropbacks in 2025.
Upgrading the offensive line needs to be a priority this offseason.
#AZCardinals #BirdGang
Which prompted me to ask Jace, who does outstanding research on all things Cardinals' related, what his plan is with regard to the following questions.
What's your plan, Jace?
Do you stick with struggling 2nd year OLC Justin Frye?
Do you bail on developing Jon Gaines II and/or Isaiah Adams? Do you give PJJ a lucrative extension in light of his #20 overall grade (7 penalties, 5 sacks allowed, 8 QB hits, 34 pressures) and look past his back-to-back season-ending knee injuries in 2024, 2025?
Do you sign a RT in free agency?
Do you pass on Rueben Bain, David Bailey, Arvell Reese to take a right tackle at #3?
Here are my answers:
Do you stick with struggling 2nd year OLC Justin Frye?
No. I believe the Cardinals need a much more experienced OLC coach to get the unit closer to how strong it was in 2024 under Klayton Adams. I was hoping that MLF would have hired one of the best OLC in the NFL to be his OC, the way Brian Schottenheimer in a similar position did when he stole Klayton Adams from the Cardinals. But sticking with Frye is a precarious proposition, despite whatever endorsements Bidwill and Ossenfort are giving him.
Do you bail on developing Jon Gaines II and/or Isaiah Adams?
I do not bail on Gaines or Adams. I believe in their talent and that with stronger coaching they will keep developing.
Jon Gaines II's 81.9 vs LAR and 81.7 vs. HST highlighted his significant talent and potential. Same for Isaiah Adams' 77.1 vs SF and 73.8 vs. LAR. Two homegrown building blocks.
Do you give PJJ a lucrative extension in light of his #20 overall grade (7 penalties, 5 sacks allowed, 8 QB hits, 34 pressures) and look past his back-to-back season-ending knee injuries in 2024, 2025?
lowest pressure rate on true pass sets allowed over the past two seasons (min. 300 non spike pass block snaps)
Note: Paris Johnson Jr. is not among these leaders.
This is why the Cardinals should sign UFA RT Jermaine Eluemunor and why they should pick up Paris Johnson Jr.'s 5th year option to see if he can improve his pass set pressure rate and play all 17 games (IR knee in 2024 - 2 games missed, IR knee in 2025 - 5 games missed) before signing him to a 2nd contract.
Tackle Comps in 2025
Penalties:
7 - Bolles, Mailata, PJJ
5 - Wirfs
3 - Thomas
Sacks Allowed:
5 - PJJ
2 - Wirfs, Mailata
1 - Thomas
0 - Bolles
QB Hits:
8 - PJJ
6 - Bolles
4 - Wirfs, Mailata
2 - Thomas
QB Pressures:
34 - PJJ
28 - Mailata
23 - Wirfs
19 - Bolles
13 - Thomas
Contracts:
Garret Bolles - 4yr $82M - $20.5M ave
Tristan Wirfs - 5yr $140M - $28M ave
Jordan Mailata - 3yr $66M - $22M ave
Andrew Thomas - 5yr $117.5M - $23.5M ave
Why 5th year option for PJJ makes sense:
* 2026 cap hit: $8.9M
* 2027 (5th year club option): $17.8M fully guaranteed
* 2028 Franchise Tag (club option): $23.4M
In this interim if PJJ's rankings rise into the top 10 and he can start to finish seasons strongly, then the team would be paying him for top results and not for unachieved potential.
Note: one of the great advantages of exercising the club 5th year option is how it creates an added incentive and hunger for the player to succeed.
Note: the days of giving 3rd year players heading into their 4th seasons "too much too soon" should be a thing of the past for the Cardinals. That is, if they can finally learn from past mistakes.
Do you sign a RT in free agency?
I've changed my mind because I am mad about Max!
Note: Rueben Bain was taken at pick #2
Do you pass on Rueben Bain, David Bailey, Arvell Reese to take a right tackle at #3?
Replying to @WBJMItch
I agree with you Walter our first pick should focus on EDGE with taking either Bains Jr. or Bailey… But the Cards FO is currently leaning OL. They also seem to be really high on Jordan Burch…
That's why I was adamant that Bidwill move on from Ossenfort. Can't trust the guy to draft BPA. Jordan Burch played 504 snaps last year and in 236 pass rushes he had a paltry 16 pressures and 1 sack. Overall PFF grade: 49.0. Sure, we hope Burch is stronger, quicker and more productive next year but for Monti to pass on Bain or Bailey in the hope that Burch is that guy, that's akin to passing on Will Anderson Jr. and hoping Zaven Collins is that guy.
Cap Trimming:
G Evan Brown (maybe agrees to a reduced salary as a valuable depth player)
UFA signing prediction:
Teven Jenkins, G, CLE, 2 yrs for $6M.
Starters:
LT Paris Johnson Jr.
LG Jon Gaines II
C Hjalte Froholdt
RG Isaiah Adams/Teven Jenkins winner
RT Max Iheanachor* R2
Depth:
G Teven Jenkins/Isaiah Adams
T Christian Jones
C Hayden Conner
G D.J. Campbell* R5
T Josh Fryar
T/G Demontrey Jacobs
T Valentin Senn
Whenh I hear back from Jace I will post his answers in the comments section. Thank you, Jace!
I like this especially if they bother to upgrade the OL coach. Otherwise, there will be modest improvement. ‘27 season they will start a rookie QB who’s gonna need a top 5-10 OL
ReplyDeleteIf Jonah Williams is a reflection of how well MO evaluates OL talent, he should just draft one with the top pick. Either the Miami or Utah Ts will work . We need edge and there are some all world picks at 3 but the draft is deep there.
ReplyDeleteBidwill just hit repeat on this staff with another inexperienced HC. He always wants control because he believes by watching film a few years ago, makes him an expert. Even Davis in Vegas relented that he doesn’t know football well enough, Mike is an arrogant stubborn fool. Monti is just a puppet and this team is just falling further behind the division because of ownership and GM. This team needs two drafts worth of new better talented players. Too bad they won’t have a good enough staff if Monti throws his dart and takes a good player.
ReplyDeleteNeeds: QB, Guard, RT, RB, DE, OLB, DT, S. Trade KM to Jets. Trade Harrison Jr for draft pick, release Conner, release or free Baker, dump Tomlinson and stop buying tickets to the games.
I agree with drafting best edge player with #3 pick (Bain or Baily, not Reese) I like your pick of Ichanchor (OT) with #2 pick also. I would be disappointed if we are picking OT with #3 pick again. That leaves OG position to draft #3 (or pickup in FA, I like Gaines & Adams as rotational/backups) and QB #4 (Nussmeier or Beck as flyer). Need new OLC, every aspect of OL regressed in 2025. Need new DC as Rallis D got squashed every-game of the year. The reality, Bidwill is pushing existing coaches is due to two factors (1) nobody wants to work for Bidwill and (2) Bidwill know-it-all....
ReplyDeleteThe OL needs fixed but I think a lot of its problems last season was from losing a very good OL coach in Klayton Adams to Dallas and then losing Conner in week 3, Benson in week 4 and Demercado missed multiple games too. This teams biggest need right now is finding qualified assistant coaches. It's always an uphill battle with this team. One step forward, two steps back. The NFL is supposed to be an entertainment product so if an owner cannot deliver an expected level of entertainment value to its fans for a decade or so, the NFL should step in and force a sale IMO. It's ridiculous that and owner can hold a fan base hostage because he inherited the team and the NFL doesn't seem to care if he delivers piss poor teams year after year.
ReplyDeleteBefore answering any of these questions, I think it needs to be asked: What is the ideal skillset for OL in LaFleur's offense compared to Petzing's? DP had a heavy emphasis on guys being able to pull in the run game, for instance. Is that still a point of emphasis? The passing system is obviously quite different, so that also factors in. With all the pre-snap motion and hot reads that LaFleur supposedly wants to run, it will be necessary to have disciplined OL who aren't prone to false starts.
ReplyDelete