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The Arizona Cardinals depth chart along the defensive line looked like that of an AAF team when Thursday morning started.
Thursday evening it has two extremely capable players that line up at starter in newly acquired Darius Philon and veteran staple Corey Peters.
Philon is not a star, he may not even be a starter on a lot of teams, but in the end he is a positive addition at a massive position of need.
Darius Philon leaving Chargers for Cardinals. Philon, a 2015 sixth-rounder, was arguably the team’s top DT last year https://t.co/Kvdv7rb5jZ
— Gilbert Manzano (@GManzano24) March 21, 2019
So, in other words, the Chargers could have re-signed Philon with essentially the same deal they gave to Mebane (plus incentives). They prioritized the wrong DT and lost the guy they should have been focused on, to begin with. Bad look IMO. https://t.co/McyvZM4t5b
— The Lightning Round Podcast (@Lightning_Round) March 21, 2019
Is Darius Philon a star? No. But he’s a 25-year old who was their best player at a position of need. A sixth round pick who grew into a key contributor. Those are the guys you usually want to reward when you can and he wasn’t that expensive. Odd given how they usually operate.
— The Lightning Round Podcast (@Lightning_Round) March 21, 2019
When I talked with Kyle Posey, big Chargers fan and now ruler at Niners Nation, he said Philon is a great part of a rotation who can provide a splash play or two a game.
The key for the Cardinals is now filling out that rotation.
Pro Football Focus graded Philon out well.
New Cardinals DT Darius Philon had a solid season last year with the Chargers. He had a 67.8 defensive grade to go with 5 sacks and 20 stops. https://t.co/Zx5ZGehd8a
— PFF ARZ Cardinals (@PFF_Cardinals) March 21, 2019
Philon play 58% of the snaps in 2018 and 48% in 2017, his best two seasons in the NFL.
The Cardinals probably need to keep his snaps below 70% to get the highest level of play out of Philon, but they also need to find more to make sure they can keep him at those numbers.
It’s just the first part of what should be an improved defensive line.