Can Haason Reddick Get To The Quarterback?

Haason Reddick did a great job getting into the backfield in college. In his final season at Temple, the Cardinals’ first-round pick had 9½ sacks and 22½ tackles for loss. But there’s a reason he was drafted as an inside linebacker. Reddick is listed at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, which is much smaller than a traditional edge-rusher at the NFL level. However, with the season-ending knee injury to Markus Golden, he is now expected to be used on the outside in passing situations.

Oct 04, 2017 at 05:01 AM

Haason Reddick did a great job getting into the backfield in college. In his final season at Temple, the Cardinals' first-round pick had 9½ sacks and 22½ tackles for loss.

But there's a reason he was drafted as an inside linebacker. Reddick is listed at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, which is much smaller than a traditional edge-rusher at the NFL level. However, with the season-ending knee injury to Markus Golden, he is now expected to be used on the outside in passing situations.

Reddick has fantastic athleticism, and if he can get around the edge, opposing quarterbacks will be in trouble. But that's still an 'if' right now.

On Sunday, for instance, Reddick may often line up against Eagles offensive tackles Lane Johnson and Jason Peters, who are listed at 317 and 328 pounds, respectively. Peters has a three-inch height advantage on Reddick and Johnson is five inches taller. That length can be hard to combat.

Reddick and the Cardinals are hopeful his speed can overcome the size discrepancies. It's certainly possible, as players like Broncos star Von Miller have been able to find great success despite giving up size to offensive tackles.

Reddick has already shown his worth at inside linebacker early in his rookie season. Now it's time to see how much of an impact he can have off the edge.

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