Which Keim holdover will survive? And other lingering roster questions
This article was originally written for SI Revenge of the Birds
Schedule release day is always beautifully nonsensical to me. It has next to no meaning. We already knew who the Cardinals were due to play. We already knew we’d have next to zero primetime games. And right now, without the benefit of an injury and form specific scrying ball, knowing the order in which these games will unfold is relatively irrelevant. And yet somehow, it’s still a magical moment. Like images of unpadded rookies running routes against the wind, like that first green shoot of spring. It’s a reckoning. A sign. The NFL calendar has morphed into a 365 24/7 colossus of constant content, careering on and on and over itself in a bid that we would take it as one, multi-year, never ending monolith. But the schedule release reminds us, consoles us. The sins of the past need not matter. A new season is upon us. The leaves are unfurling.
And it does answer some questions we had. The Cardinals will be opening up in Buffalo. There will only be one primetime game. But it’s just a taste of the answers I desire. It leaves me wanting more. My history teacher used to tell me to ‘never wish my life away’, but what I wouldn’t give to have a glimpse of our roster, our starters, on September 8th 2024. Until then, without that crystal ball, I’m just left with questions. Ponderings.
Here are some of the bigger ones.
Who’s playing Right Tackle?
Maybe I missed something. A nugget in a press conference I unwittingly dozed off during. An insider leak. But everywhere I seem to look, from the national media talking heads, to the depth chart on ourlads.com, Paris Johnson Jr is slated to start the year at right tackle. Maybe they’re just presuming. But there’s one big reason why PJJ shouldn’t start 2024 at right tackle for the Cardinals. He should be on the left.
Paris had a promising rookie season on the right hand side of the offensive line. It really wasn’t great at times, it improved down the stretch. That’s all true. But his most impressive achievement was playing every single snap. And it’s certainly impressive. But maybe his season-long PFF grade of 60.1, ranking him as the 57th best offensive, tackle should bear some more weight here. Now, not all offensive tackles come in as ready made NFL players, especially those made to play out of their natural position. But with DJ Humphries away is there really a case that Paris shouldn’t start at left tackle? Is the signing of Jonah Williams, a man the Bengals moved from LT to RT due to performance and reliability issues, a necessary roadblock in the development of a man that the Cardinals would have taken at number 3 in the 2023 draft. Paris is an athletic marvel, with arm length the envy of most tackles to ever play the sport and a very good season of left tackle play under his belt at Ohio State.
PJJ didn’t have a Tristan Wirfs or Penei Sewell like rookie performance on the right in 2023. I think it would be malpractice to not find out if he can put his tools to better use on the left. Versatility is great. It’s very useful. But Paris wasn’t drafted to be a swing tackle. He was drafted to be a stalwart, dominant player that you might build an offensive line around. A weapon.
If anything, I think there should be a stronger chance that rookie Christian Jones starts the year at right tackle than Paris. Another more impressive athlete than Jonah Williams, albeit only slightly. Jones’ four years starting at right tackle at Texas trumps Jonah’s experience on that side as well.
To be clear, I have nothing against Jonah. I’m sure he would be a fine starter in 2024, on either side. But the Cardinals need to spend 2024 figuring out who the future building blocks of this team are. The future All-Pro contenders. My bet’s on Paris Johnson Jr.
On the left.
Is Greg Dortch being forced out? Again?
I would wager that if Cardinals fans had a hand in picking the team on a week to week basis, Greg Dortch wouldn’t miss a snap. When I reminisce about his slaloming run after the catch against the Eagles last season, leading to that game-winning touchdown, I feel a true ecstasy reverberating deep in my bones. Like a parent might feel seeing their young child throw in an unprompted ‘please’ to the waiter. And yet, for all the brilliant moments and performances, it feels like every year the Cardinals try to replace him.
This off-season started out strong for Greg. The signing of DeeJay Dallas as a returner seemed an indicator Dortch would be focusing more on offense. The re-signing with the team. The taking the #4 shirt. But then the Cardinals drafted Tejhaun Palmer, added Xavier Weaver as a UDFA and topped it off by signing Zay Jones to a one year deal after the draft. Further reinforcing the new Cardinals regime’s preference for tall receivers. Just this off-season we’ve seen the departure of Hollywood Brown and Rondale Moore, and the acquisition of five new wide-outs, all at least 5 inches taller than the 5”7’ frame of Greg Dortch.
But to characterise Dortch by his height alone would be doing him a dastardly disservice. This isn’t your average small slot receiver. Whilst making defenders miss in space is a definite skill of his, his ability to contest catches on the outside is not to be sniffed at. In the aforementioned game against the Eagles, Greg caught 7 passes for 83 yards with 72.7% snaps on the outside. On the season, only 28.3% of his snaps came in the slot.
All these big, new, shiny receivers are great to have. But I hope Dortch doesn’t become last years Christmas present, forgotten and stuffed in the back of a cupboard. If a receiver room should be built out like a basketball team, with a variety of builds and skillsets capable of dismantling all manner of defensive coverages, then Dortch should be the fun, and very undersized shooting guard with a penchant for unexpectedly devastating finishes above the rim. Maybe not the highest usage, but definitely a key component.
Will the final Keim holdovers on defense stick?
If the remaining defensive players drafted by Steve Keim were a species of animal, they’d be a Javan Rhinoceros. Oh, because they’re big and strong? Nope. Because they’re one wrong move away from extinction. The only ones remaining on the Cardinals from the 2020, 2021 & 2022 drafts are Zaven Collins, Victor Dimukeje, Cam Thomas and Jesse Luketa. Of those four, there’s a (small) chance that only Zaven sticks on the 53 man roster this year. And after having his fifth-year option declined, even he might not make it to 2025.
Luketa signed a new one-year deal for this season, but there’s no guaranteed money on it. Despite suiting up for 12 games last year, he only played 132 snaps on defense and whilst it was fun to see him used as a jumbo full-back on offense, it was only 10 snaps, and substantially more silly than successful. Probably practice squad again.
Dimukeje has improved year over year and managed a 12.6% pass-rush win-rate in 2023, albeit again in a limited role. For context, that was 3rd on the Cardinals behind Ojulari and Gardeck, but 49th in the league among edge players with a modicum of snaps. But 24 pressures and 5 sacks in only 381 snaps is a commendable effort, add in his very solid special teams performances and I’d be surprised if he didn’t make the 53 man roster again this year. And despite entering his 4th season in the league, he won’t turn 25 until November.
Cam Thomas. Oh, Cam Thomas. What do we do with you? A definite downturn in performances in 2023. Despite similar snap numbers to Dimukeje, he managed just 16 pressures, 0 QB hits, 0 sacks. Whilst there are definite clamours from some to move him inside where he can take better advantage of the above average agility for his size, the Cardinals coaching staff certainly haven’t seen it that way so far. With the constant comments from the Cardinals powers that be about the overwhelming importance of versatility, I can’t help but feel that he would have had more than 4 of his 345 DL snaps on the inside if his coaches felt like he could handle it. A definite ‘surprise’ cut contender. And if that happens and he’s picked up by the Texans ‘because JJ Watt told them to’, just remember that Myjai Sanders was waived by Houston last month and is still a free-agent. Maybe JJ’s slightly overrated as a talent evaluator.
And then there’s Zaven. He looks like an edge rusher at the very least. In fact, Zaven has a ludicrously similar physical profile to All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby. Same height, same 40 yard dash time, same broad jump. As in, exactly the same. Almost identical weight, 10 yard split, bench reps, vertical jump. Zaven has longer arms, Maxx better agility scores. But whilst Maxx had another sparkling campaign featuring 15 sacks and nearly 100 pressures, Zaven was fairly middling in his debut season on the edge. Whilst his run defense, tackling instincts and coverage skills showed up all year, his pass rushing was blunt and ineffective. His lack of experience didn’t help, but I don’t think that Zaven will ever have the agility, brute strength or lower-body flexibility to be an above-average NFL edge rusher. But that doesn’t mean he can’t become a good edge defender. Those coverage skills from the edge are very useful in this Gannon/ Rallis system. Especially so in this current defensive ‘meta’ of simulated pressure. If the defense is going to bring heat from inside linebacker/corner/safety positions on a regular basis, someone from the defensive line needs to cover their coverage responsibilities. It’s not a game-breaking, world-altering, $30m a year skill, but it’s certainly useful in a system. I’d be shocked if Zaven doesn’t make the team. I’d be surprised if he’s not starting Week 1. But unless there’s a drastic improvement in his pass-rush skillset, I’m skeptical he will ever be more than a rotational, useful player. Someone to hold on to for sure, but not necessarily to build around.
Questions form the cutting room floor
Is Garrett Williams set in the slot? The addition of Max Melton, Jaden Davis and Rabbit Taylor-Demerson, as well as any improvement from Kei’Trel Clark, has me wondering if we’ll see more Garrett Williams on the outside this season.
Jon Gaines II v Evan Brown. I’m very intrigued by Gaines. He’s incredibly fleet of foot for a lineman. The Cards were keen to have him working at center before his injury last season. Can he beat out the experienced Evan Brown for the back-up center spot and become heir apparent to Hjalte?
The Cardinals go into 2024 with a significantly deeper roster than previous years. That’s a great place to start. But it does make the job of figuring out a 53 and a 22 that much more intriguing. These answers I’m looking for will be kept out of reach for a while yet, but that won’t stop me pondering. Especially not with all these lovely new flowers in bloom.