As the Arizona Cardinals head off for the summer and fans twiddle their thumbs during the final part of the year without any football, it’s time to fully examine what Monti Ossenfort and his staff were able to cook up during the offseason.

Having spent the past two years completely revamping the roster, 2025 saw the Cardinals flex their muscles in the free agency market for the first time with Monti at the helm and with the core of the team already in place they were also able to focus more heavily on quality over quantity.

The main area that was zeroed in on, despite the disappointment surrounding the passing game especially towards the end of the season, was on the defensive side of the ball. Though the defence was greater than the sum of its parts (sitting around middle of the table for points and touchdowns allowed) and performed admirably, it was still a major issue for the Cardinals in 2024.

Only six teams gave up more yards per carry than the Cardinals (4.6) with 9 teams giving up more running plays of 20+ yards (12).

The Carolina Panthers were able to derail the campaign as Chuba Hubbard rushed for 152 yards in a 36-30 defeat of the Cards and in crucial divisional games against Seattle, the defence couldn’t create adequate interior pressure against an offensive line that surrendered 233 pressures across the season.

The defence ranked 28th in the league for Pass Rush Win Rate (33%) and Zaven Collins was the team’s leading sack “artist” with 5. The team were also tied for the 5th least amount of interceptions (9).

They lacked the experience, quality and PURE MEAT along the defensive line and they didn’t have enough playmakers who could make a consistent impact on the game.

The Cardinals attacked those problem areas heavily in both free agency and the draft. After a slow opening to the start of the free agency period with a move for Milton Williams being deemed too pricey, leaving some in the media and the fanbase to get a little bit dramatic, questioning if Monti was even a good GM, the Cardinals struck.

Josh Sweat, in a move that felt like such a no-brainer that it was almost an anti-climax when it was announced, joined on a four-year, $76m deal. The pass rusher had just come off a sterling performance in the Super Bowl, getting 2.5 sacks, 6 tackles and constant pressure on Patrick Mahomes as the Eagles overcame the Chiefs, and now reunites with a coach who knows how to get the best out of him in Jonathan Gannon.

In 2024, Sweat registered 8 regular season sacks (28th/211 eligible EDGE players), 27 defensive stops (23rd), 37 hurries (18th), 54 total pressures (21st) and 9 QB hits (24th). In 2022, with Gannon masterminding the Eagles defence, Sweat hit a career-high 15 regular + postseason sacks.

A violent, strong pass-rusher that dents the line of scrimmage and puts offensive linemen on the back foot, Sweat might not be a superstar but he was the most accomplished player at his position who was *actually* available.

He immediately becomes the most talented pass rusher that Gannon has had in his time as Head Coach, bringing experience to a young position group and despite the concerns around the knee injury he suffered in college, Sweat hasn’t missed more than one game in a season since 2020.

Ossenfort followed that up by capitalising on a slightly surprising cap-casualty from the Cleveland Browns, tying down Dalvin Tomlinson to a 2-year, $29m contract. The behemoth nose tackle, known as Thanos, brings significant beef to the Cardinals D-Line and he has shown throughout his career that he knows how to use his size to cause serious damage to offensive lines.

Out of all defensive tackles who weigh at least 320 lbs, Tomlinson had the highest pressure rate (11.9%) in 2024. That list includes Dexter Lawrence, Vita Vea, Daron Payne and D.J. Reader. A Cardinals defensive line that has often been bullied and shoved around for the past few years now has one of the biggest, baddest motherfuckers in the league at its centre.

The final “big ticket” addition to the defensive line, at least in free agency, was the return of a Cardinal great. Calais Campbell came home.

With any other soon-to-be 39-year old, entering his 18th season, this would be viewed as a bit of fan service. A nice piece of nostalgia to honour a veteran. This isn’t any other soon-to-be 39-year old, though.

This is Calais Campbell and Calais Campbell is still a very good football player.

In 2024, Campbell ranked 7th out of 219 eligible interior defensive linemen with a 82.3 PFF grade. He ranked #1 in pass rush with an 85.9 grade. Only 7 other Dlinemen recorded more solo tackles than Campbell’s 39, he was 7th in defensive stops (37), third for batted passes with 5 and had 5 sacks (23rd).

He did that over 616 snaps – more than any other Cardinals defensive lineman played last year. With the way Gannon and Nick Rallis like to rotate their defensive front, Campbell is likely to benefit from a reduced workload.

Father Time comes for us all but it seems like Campbell still has some juice left to squeeze out of his NFL career.

Perhaps most importantly for the Cardinals, Calais is widely regarded as a fantastic leader and overall human being, which leads us nicely to the draft where the team continued to pour assets into creating a dominant D-Line, with the selection of Walter Nolen III.

A prospect that was knocked pre-draft due to concerns around his temperament and attitude, something that has been downplayed by the Cardinals staff, Nolen now finds himself under the learning tree of both Campbell and Tomlinson.

While some of those concerns were seemingly genuine – there were reports of Nolen storming off the practice field – some seem to be quite speculative about his “desire” and “love of the game”.

Assistant-GM Dave Sears addressed some of the “media misinformation” around the #16 pick during an interview with Paul Calvisi saying that the team “had some very good interactions with Walter at the Combine and then on his 30 visit so we’re very comfortable with Walter the person” and Gannon has spoken glowingly about Nolen’s attitude since arriving.

Though there was some slight panic when Nolen was working on the sidelines during a portion of OTA’s and JG wouldn’t expand on why that was the case beyond it being “neither” an injury concern or contractual, the team has repeatedly hammered home how much they value the personal side of things when adding to the roster and will have done their homework on their latest first-round pick.

On the field, Nolen has all of the talent to become one of the headline players of the 2025 draft class. When the self-proclaimed “next Aaron Donald” is good, he’s very, very good. A top-tier athlete for the position who bursts out of his stance quickly, Nolen constantly tries to wreak havoc, acting as a defensive cannon ball to blow holes in offensive lines.

An immensely strong young man, he has been a highlight of the team’s offseason work, showcasing serious power and violence in drills and he hasn’t maxed out physically yet as seen by his already improving physique since being drafted.

Whether that explosiveness and promise translates to the NFL field remains to be seen. While he is coming off a career-best year at Ole Miss, there was plenty of production left on the field, with Nolen needing to develop a consistent and varied pass-rushing plan as well as becoming more clinical in the backfield.

Under the guidance of Campbell, Tomlinson, Gannon and Rallis, Nolen has been placed into arguably the best position possible to thrive as a professional.

Despite having the quietest draft of his tenure so far, Monti Ossenfort was still able to come away from the draft with two first-round talents, adding Will Johnson in the second round.

Last season, the corners actually held up well when it comes to game-changing moments, allowing 20 passing touchdowns (4th best), forty six 20+ yard plays (7th best) and six plays of 40+ yards (joint 4th best), but that wasn’t the issue. For the Cardinals passing defence, it was death by a thousand cuts rather than one devastating swing of the sword.

The Cardinals gave up the 4th worst completion percentage in 2024 (68.6%), joint 4th worst yards per attempt (7.3) and most critically, allowed the joint 7th most 1st downs allowed by passing (200) and the 4th worst 1st Down Percentage to the pass – the percentage of passing plays that resulted in a first down – with 37.1%.

While the corners will directly benefit from the improvement in the defensive line, Max Melton showed flashes in 2024, improving as the season went on and Starling Thomas continued to outperform his status as a UDFA, Nick Rallis couldn’t call on a true #1 CB to match against some of the best receivers in the league which lead to cautious calls.

The most glaring of those was in the defeat to Minnesota, where Justin Jefferson exploited the soft defensive call to make a crucial reception.

While he’s still a way off being able to successfully cover receivers of Jefferson’s calibre, Will Johnson has the credentials to become the genuine CB1 that Rallis has been crying out for.

With more Pick 6s in college football than touchdowns allowed (3 to 2) and a National Championship under his belt from his time at Michigan, Johnson is a terrific zone-cover corner allowing a miserly 30.9 passer rating in 2023.

Injuries hampered his 2024 output and there are questions over his long speed which were more apparent last year, but Johnson still possesses first round talent. A smooth athlete, he can track more athletically gifted receivers and has the size to go toe-to-toe with bigger pass catchers.

The reason he slid to the Cardinals in the second round is due to the knee injury that required a osteochondral autograft procedure – a surgery that can impact the longevity of a professional athlete’s career.

The attention on his knee and draft slide pissed Johnson off. He says he’s healthy and that the knee hasn’t been a concern since the surgery. The Cardinals were happy with the medical evaluations and, if Johnson is healthy, could have snagged the steal of the draft.

A fit, fully firing Will Johnson that meets the expectations he set in his All-American 2023 campaign would be a game-changer.

Oregon’s Jordan Burch joined the great defensive overhaul in the third round. The defensive lineman, who was played inside and outside in college, is very much viewed as a stand-up pass-rushing option by the Cardinals something Dave Sears confirmed saying “we’re gonna play him on the edge, he’s very firm at the point setting the edge”.

A physical specimen, with 33 3/4″ arms, Burch’s production exploded in 2024 with 8.5 sacks (some platforms have him as getting 10), 32 pressures, a forced fumble and 4 batted passes. Burch understands how to use his gifts to his advantage recording 11 batted passes in college and being an efficient, physical tackler having missed just two tackles in two seasons at Oregon.

The Cardinals desire to play him at EDGE is best emphasised by his pass rush win rate last year. Overall, Burch had a middle-of-the-pack 16.3%. However, that jumped up to 21.4% (10th in the class) when looking exclusively at snaps from 5i or wider where he was more able to use his athletic advantages more effectively.

On the 55 pass rush snaps (22.5% of his total) he had at 4i or further inside, Burch’s PRWR dropped to 3.6%, and he wasn’t actually being asked to rush the passer on the majority of those snaps. Simply put, at the NFL level, Jordan Burch is an EDGE and he may be an impactful one at that.

A powerful pocket collapser with the athleticism to grow into more, the 23-year-old may play back up to the strength of Josh Sweat with BJ Ojulari and Baron Browning providing more of the speed and zip on the other side of the defence.

The now firmly established Ohio State Cardinals/Arizona Buckeyes pipeline was further supplemented by the selections of Cody Simon and Denzel Burke.

Simon, the inside linebacker who notched MVP honours in the Rose Bowl and National Championship games, was referred to as a “future president” by OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and that tells you everything you need to know about Cody Simon as a person.

A leader and captain of the national champions, Simon is well aware of the expectations the team have for him as a player viewed as being capable of having the green-dot role in the Cardinals defence telling media “if your younger guys aren’t trying to push to be a leader, I think your younger guys maybe aren’t trying to be the best version of themselves,” Simon said.

Leading the Buckeyes in tackles last year, with 100 combined, and also showcasing a new found ability to find the QB with 8 sacks, Simon will compete with free agency additions Akeem Davis-Gaither and Mykal Walker to play alongside Mack Wilson.

An instinctive and highly competitive player, Simon can be attacked in coverage but he uses his anticipation to snuff out danger and guard against big plays. He didn’t give away a single penalty on 1861 career defensive snaps and is primed to contribute early.

Burke’s selection was an eyebrow-raising choice for many Cards fans with a crowded CB room, but with news of Sean Murphy-Bunting’s season-ending injury coming to light in recent week, the decision makes more sense.

An experienced player, his 51 career starts was a school record for defensive backs at OSU.

Previously touted as a potential Day 1 or Day 2 pick, Burke’s stock fell after a less than stellar 2024 but the hope will be that the Cardinals staff can coach Burke back to his 2023 form where he had 7 pass break ups and an 81.7 PFF coverage grade.

2024 wasn’t all bad for Burke though. As well as becoming a national champion, he improved his tackling tenfold, his missed tackle rate going down from 22.9% in 2023 to 7.5%.

Kitan Crawford was the final draftee, a safety out of Nevada, who is viewed as a possible special teams ace. He posted the 3rd best 40-yard time at the Combine amongst safeties (4.41 seconds), second best vertical (41.50″), joint 3rd best broad jump (10′ 8″), best 3-cone time (6.81 secs) and best 20-yard shuttle (4.03 secs).

Crawford, who transferred to Nevada from Texas for the 2024 season, also earned a 88.5 PFF coverage grade in his lone season as a college starter in 2024. While he’s got a lot of development to do to try and take away playing time from Jalen Thompson or Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, he can certainly earn himself a roster spot by excelling on special teams.

The only defensive addition from the six UDFA signings was DT Elijah Simmons, a roadblock of a nose tackle, who showed flashes of brilliance during his five-year stint at Tennessee. It would be a surprise if the 23-year-old can force himself into the 53-man roster but he’ll certainly benefit from learning from Calais and Dalvin Tomlinson.

Football shouldn’t be judged on paper but there, at least, the Arizona Cardinals defence is significantly stronger than it has been so far during Ossenfort and Gannon’s time at the club. It’s worlds apart in terms of proven quality, difference makers and potential future stars from the the defense that was forced upon Nick Rallis in his first season.

The additions of Sweat, Campbell and Tomlinson provide proven commodities to a defence that was essentially being carried solo on the shoulders of Budda Baker in terms of star power while Nolen and Johnson will be aiming to make a similar impact to Garrett Williams who has carved himself out a niche as one of the best slot corners in the league.

If Darius Robinson and BJ Ojulari can get on track after dealing with injuries last year, the Arizona Cardinals defence could become a heavyweight contender in the NFL.

Nick Rallis, who Dave Sears conceded has been put under “some stress in terms of the roster”, will be able to roll out a defence that could could contain Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson and either Walter Nolen, Darius Robinson or Dante Stills on the defensive line depending on formation, Josh Sweat and BJ Ojulari or Baron Browning at EDGE, Cody Simon and Mack Wilson at linebacker, Will Johnson and Max Melton at corner, Garret Williams in at slot when called upon and a combination of Budda Baker, Jalen Thompson or DTD at safety.

That’s a far cry from the days of having to lean on Leki Fotu, Cameron Thomas and Jonathan Ledbetter as regular contributors.

In the 2025 offseason, Monti Ossenfort and the Arizona Cardinals might have made the team’s biggest weakness into its greatest strength.

Image Credits: Arizona Cardinals, Mark J. Rebilas