Jalen Thompson isn't going to be as well known as Budda Baker, understandably. But he has morphed into a budding star himself in the secondary, part of an all-drafted group that also includes Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson at cornerback. That was on display Sunday, with his quick-thinking snare of a deflected pass for an interception to start the game and his double-digit tackling game the rest of the way.
It's also notable that Thompson ended up with the team's best Pro Football Focus grade against the Bears, with an 82.9. Thompson, as it turned out, played more snaps (69, out of 76 total) than did Baker (59), although the latter was partially a function of backups playing late in the blowout.
Isaiah Simmons played the most defensive snaps (75), with Chandler Jones notching 68 (89 percent) and defensive lineman Zach Allen leading that position at 62. Jordan Phillips had the next most on the defensive line with 39. Murphy, playing on a sore foot, got an interception and a half-a-sack in his lower-percentage-than-usual 61 snaps. Rookie linebacker Zaven Collins, who has watched his defensive time dwindle to almost nothing, only played three snaps.
Aside from Thompson, PFF thought defensive lineman Corey Peters (81.2) had a good day, as well as Jones (75.9), Murphy (74.8) and Allen (73.9). In limited time, PFF also liked defensive linemen Zach Kerr (72.5) and Michael Dogbe (68.5).
On the other side of the ball, running back James Conner looked like the workhorse and he was, playing 48 out of a possible 53 snaps. Eno Benjamin only played four snaps, and it will be interesting to see what kind of work Conner gets when Chase Edmonds -- who could in theory return this week against the Rams -- is back.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury said the weather and circumstances made it easier to limit DeAndre Hopkins' snaps in his first game in a month. Hopkins ended up playing 39 of 53 snaps -- fewer than normal, but still the most out of the wide receivers. A.J. Green, Christian Kirk and Rondale Moore played 36-32-23, respectively.
Hopkins still had a good PFF grade at 73.8. Left tackle D.J. Humphries had the highest offensive grade at 81.8, and left guard Sean Harlow, playing for Justin Pugh, was at 69.0. There weren't a lot of shiny PFF offensive grades, but that wasn't a surprise in the "grimy" game -- as Kingsbury called it -- the Cardinals played.
