The Arizona Cardinals walked into the 2025 offseason with ample cap space and draft picks to greatly improve their roster after an eight-win campaign.
So far, so good.
The Cardinals inked big names such as Josh Sweat and Dalvin Tomlinson to bolster their defensive front seven while also retaining key names across the board.
There's serious hope for the Cardinals to dominate the trenches thanks to their new additions, and their efforts haven't gone unnoticed across the national media,
Pro Football Focus says Arizona's defensive line was one of the most improved units in free agency.
"The Cardinals had the fifth-lowest-graded defensive line in the NFL last season. In response, Arizona invested nearly $125 million in its defensive front," wrote Max Chadwick.
"The Cardinals’ biggest addition came by adding edge defender Josh Sweat. He earned 70.0-plus PFF grades in four of the past five seasons and posted 10.5 sacks for the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season and playoffs last year. They also brought back Baron Browning to man the other edge defender spot, and he ranked 23rd in both pass-rush grade and pass-rush win rate last year.
"Arizona’s major addition at defensive tackle came in the form of Dalvin Tomlinson, who’s been one of the 32 highest-graded interior defenders in seven of his eight seasons. The Cardinals are hoping 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson can make a jump in Year 2 to solidify one of the other spots on the interior defensive line."
Chadwick also didn't mention BJ Ojulari, who was a promising pass rusher before his knee injury kept him out all of 2024. The Cardinals also saw an impressive jump from Dante Stills in his second season.
Arizona certainly spent the money to dominate the trenches - now, it's on the players and coaches to make good on their potential.