WESTFIELD, Indiana – The image resonating from Xavier Thomas' first preseason game for many was putting Saints tackle Trevor Penning on skates, or his sack of Valley native Spencer Rattler.
When the rookie outside linebacker talked about that first game, it was the ability just to calm the nerves of playing in the league for the first time.
"My legs were shaking on that first play," Thomas said.
Perhaps it isn't surprising for Thomas to make the right mindset the priority, after what he's been through in his life and the need to focus on his mental health. But he has been in a good place for a long while, and as he shows it in training camp, the Cardinals might just have found something special in their fifth-round pick.
He generated three pressures against the Saints and provided a 23.1 percent pass rush-win rate according to Pro Football Focus, a nice number for anyone and certainly for a team looking for "that guy" off the edge.
"I was enthused about him," coach Jonathan Gannon said.
The pass rush has been in the spotlight for months. BJ Ojulari, in his second year, was the one most were counting on to be the Cardinals' top answer, until he tore up his knee in practice and was lost for the season.
Conversations naturally bubble up when veteran edge rushers like Matthew Judon and Haason Reddick seek trades while looking for new contracts. Judon was dealt from the Patriots to the Falcons; the Jets have publicly said they have no intention of trading Reddick. With Judon 32 and Reddick about to turn 30, neither seemed to fit the current framework of what GM Monti Ossenfort is trying to build.
That doesn't mean the Cardinals won't make a move at some point. But they would also like to develop someone like Thomas, who came into college as one of the top recruits in the nation and who holds the physical tools necessary to do damage in the NFL.
"I felt like earlier in OTAs and even earlier in camp, he was just trying to figure it out a little bit," Gannon said. "When you are trying to figure it out on the fly when the ball is snapped, sometimes your physical traits don't show up. What I was impressed about with him is, let it rip, cut it loose, however you want to say it, I thought he did that (Saturday). That tells me he's comfortable, he's not thinking, and now it shows what he can do physically.
"That jumped off the tape to me."
Thomas is going to get his opportunities. After Ojulari got hurt the team did sign veteran Marquis Haynes Sr., but he was released a few days later. The team still has a high waiver claim through September. They could still sign someone, or trade.
Thomas, however, has made his presence known and will be analyzed carefully as the regular season approaches.
"Regardless of BJ going down or not, I knew I was going to come in here and make it a competitive level in regards to our room," Thomas said. "I'm just coming in, growing each day, learning by the minute."
