The Cardinals didn't just double down on defense on the second night of the draft, they triple-downed, adding outside linebacker Jordan Burch to the unit with their third-round pick.
This comes after the Cardinals selected defensive tackle Walter Nolen III on Thursday and cornerback Will Johnson earlier in the second round.
Burch spent three season at South Carolina before he transferred to Oregon. As a two-year starter with the Ducks, Burch had 11.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss. The numbers could have been higher if Burch did not miss four games in 2024 due to a meniscus injury and a rolled ankle.
"Sky is the limit," Burch said. "I'm going to keep going. I feel like a lot of people haven't seen all I can do. I feel like at this next level I'm going to be able to show them."
Burch's production was good enough for the Cardinals to select him and put him in a room with Josh Sweat, Baron Browning, and Zaven Collins.
He'll also reunite with his high school teammate, outside linebacker Xavier Thomas, whom the Cardinals selected in the fifth-round last year.
"They moved him to linebacker a little bit, and that left me with the one-on-one," Burch said. "Things got ugly (for opposing offensive lines)."
A "30" visit with the Cardinals allowed Burch to develop a rapport with the Cardinals coaching staff, a group he described as "laid back and chill." Coach Jonathan Gannon warned that the vibe will change once they are on the practice field.
"I like how young they are," Burch said. "I feel like you can talk to them about anything. Any question I had, they explained it thoroughly. That's probably the best thing you can ask for as a player."
The offseason priority had been to revamp the defense, and it has certainly been busy getting accomplished since March. While there were offensive weapons on the board, general manager Monti Ossenfort choose to keep the defensive reinforcements coming.
But picking three consecutive defensive players wasn't intentional.
"It's really how the board shook out," Ossenfort said. "We never go into a drafting saying we have to add this many offensive players or this many defensive players or position over position. It just so happened that the first three picks were defense."
With these additions to the defense, the head coach joked that defensive coordinator Nick Rallis gave Ossenfort a bigger hug than Gannon after he was hired.
Burch is the newest member to an upgraded unit. His versatility is a trait Ossenfort values, and the tape shows he can play along the end as a 5-, 6-, or 9-technique edge rusher.
"He brings a unique skillset for a guy who is his size and length and to be able to play on his feet and play on the edge of the line of scrimmage," Ossenfort said.
Whenever Oregon needed to affect the quarterback, the Big Ten champions would rely on their pass rusher to make a play.
The Cardinals are hoping for more of the same from Burch.
"It's a dream come true," Burch said. "I didn't really know who was going to pick me, but I feel like I had a great relationship with the Cardinals, and had a great '30' visit there, so everything worked out perfectly."
