INDIANAPOLIS -- Defensive lineman Jordan Phillips – no, not the one who proved to be a washout as a Cardinals free-agent signee, but the Maryland product among a list of some two dozen prospects who rate as a potential NFL starter in this deep DL draft class – considered the idea of trying to impress teams over all the other defensive linemen doing the same.
"Perfect timing," Phillips said Wednesday, speaking at the annual Scouting combine.
"I'm a competitor at the end of the day," he added. "Playing this game, you can't run away from competition. You have to embrace it."
Long before the Eagles won the Super Bowl with super play from their defensive line – and offensive, for that matter – the Cardinals tilted roster-building that way under GM Monti Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon. Tackle Paris Johnson Jr. was a first rounder in 2023, Darius Robinson a first rounder in 2024.
The need remains, especially on the defensive line, and so does the philosophy.
"You can go to my son's football game, who is in third grade, to the local high school, to the national championship in college and the Super Bowl, and it's clear it starts with the offensive and defensive line," Gannon said. "If you are that premier (in those spots), it can end with the offensive and defensive line too. It's about blocking and tackling. Those two positions impact that before anybody does. It's not hard to see that the team that controls the line of scrimmage has a really good chance to win the game."
Having choices aids the chase. ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid said this defensive line class rivals that of 2019, which had Nick Bosa, Quinnen Williams, Christian Wilkins, Jeffrey Simmons, Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence. (The Cardinals even got Zach Allen in the third round.)
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said the defensive tackle class is as deep as he can remember. Last season, he had 12 such players with starting potential. This year, 24. The Cardinals, Jeremiah said, will have an option to nab a Day 1 starter at EDGE or defensive tackle.
And "there's nothing wrong with taking two," he said. "If you want to take one in the first round and swing around and take another in the fourth round, do it."
Michigan's Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, Mississippi's Walter Nolen, Ohio State's Tyleik Williams and Oregon's Derrick Harmon are among the interior linemen that have been discussed for the first round. On the outside, it's guys like Marshall's Mike Green, Penn State's Abdul Carter, Tennessee's James Pierce Jr., Georgia's Mykel Williams and Texas A&M's Shemar Stewart.
Assessing what the players do also makes a difference. Green had 17 sacks but in a smaller conference. Stewart never had more than two sacks in a season but is seen on tape as constantly harassing the QB.
"The scouting motto is traits over production," said Dane Brugler, draft analyst for The Athletic. "How much is he winning, how much is he affecting the quarterback? You want guys to affect the quarterback."
Ossenfort noted the quantity of available draftees, adding that the Cardinals again want linemen who can play different spots.
That's why the Cards signed veterans Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols last season, players coming back from injury who will be in the defensive line mix along with Robinson, who played through injury in only six games.
"When we acquired (Jones and Nichols) I believed in them, and I still believe in them," Gannon said.
There could be additions in free agency as well – the Cardinals seem to be a favorite link to Eagles free agents-to-be Milton Williams and/or Josh Sweat, because both played under Gannon in Philadelphia – but as Jeremiah said, the Eagles in the Super Bowl showed having waves of such players are a winning move.
"The first thing you look for is if a guy can be disruptive in the pass game, and taking the full 360 look at us, that's a way we can improve our team – disrupt the quarterback better than we did last year and two years ago," Gannon said.
Leaning into that ideal seems like a certainty when it comes to this year's Cardinals' draft days.
"Interior," Grant said, "is the first threat for (offensive) linemen."
