The Arizona Cardinals defense which the Green Bay Packers will face this week is an interesting one, with some unique chess pieces and a creative scheme which should keep Matt LaFleur and his offense on their toes.
Arizona’s coaching staff has done an impressive job in recent years of maximizing limited talent on defense, and the unit has been greater than the sum of its parts.
Early in the season, they are a middle of the pack group, ranking 14th in points allowed per game, 17th in expected points added, 12th in yards per play and 15th in takeaways, but the Cardinals will still pose some issues for the Packers offense.
In terms of scheme, they are zone heavy, and are running the most Cover 4 of any defense in the NFL so far this season at 28%. They tend to switch between a five-man front when in base defense to a four-man front in nickel, rather than subbing a linebacker in and out.
Arizona is also one of only two defenses in the league running 25% or more of both Cover 3 and Cover 4. Head coach Jonathan Gannon calls the defense, likes to keep offenses guessing and has the personnel to do it.
Here are some of the main characters and key threats of the Cardinals defense:
Josh Sweat
The Cardinals have not generated all that much pressure early in the season, ranking 25th in pressure rate and 23rd in blitz rate, but they do have some talented pass rushers, with Sweat chief among them.
He was brought over from Philadelphia in the offseason after racking up 234 pressures and 33 sacks in the previous four years, and already has 21 pressures and five sacks through the first six weeks of the 2025 campaign.
Sweat has rushed from both the left and right side so could be moved around in an attempt to exploit the matchup of Arizona’s choosing, and they also have some secondary rushers who can be moved around and deployed in different ways in Baron Browning and Zaven Collins.
Elsewhere on the front, ageless wonder Calais Campbell is still getting the job done at defensive tackle at 39 years old. Campbell is not the game changer he once was, but will not make life easy for Green Bay’s interior offensive linemen, who have not been stellar early in the year.
Will Johnson
With Garrett Williams – who enjoyed an excellent 2024 season – on injured reserve, rookie second-round pick Will Johnson has been by far the Cardinals’ best cornerback early in the year.
He would have been a first-rounder if not for injury concerns, and so far, Arizona is getting great value in the former Michigan corner. Opponents are completing just 56.5% of passes against Johnson, he has five pass break ups, has only allowed one touchdown and a passer rating of 78.
Arizona’s other corners, including Bo Melton’s younger brother Max, have been picked on at times, so Johnson’s presence is vital. Jordan Love will need to respect the rookie and not be too brazen with throwing in his vicinity.
Budda Baker
Baker is the Swiss army knife of the Cardinals defense, and has been one the best and most versatile safeties in the NFL for a long time.
He moves all over the field, from the box, to deep safety, to the slot, and it can be a guessing game for the opposing quarterback to decipher where he is going to end up post snap.
Fellow safety Jalen Thompson is similarly fluid in his positioning and has actually played more slot snaps than Baker so far this year, adding to the potential confusion.
In nickel, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson often subs in for Thompson, and the second-year player has been very strong in coverage in his young NFL career so far.
Overall, the Cardinals defense has some good players, and can be confusing schematically, but is not an especially daunting unit overall. The Packers put up 34 points against Gannon’s defense last year, and should be able to handle whatever is thrown at them this week.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Cardinals defense scouting report: 3 key players Jordan Love and Packers must account for
Reporting by Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
