Arizona Cardinals' Most Important Non-QB Revealed

The beauty of the Arizona Cardinals' roster heading into 2025 is that it no longer depends heavily on one or a small group of stars. Instead, they'll have plenty of depth, veteran presence, and young talent with plenty of potential.

Arizona is in a unique position with that in mind. Rather than putting immense pressure on a handful of players, there's hope that multiple positions can pan out with both young players and the current talent.

So when evaluating just who will be the most important player in Arizona this season (with the exception of the quarterback position), it's difficult to actually pinpoint just one player.

That's why, according to CBS Sports' Jared Dubin, Arizona's most important non-QB doesn't come down to just one.

Arizona Cardinals' Most Valuable Non-QB Revealed

According to Dubin, "the new additions on defense" are what stand out in this conversation.

"The Cards did head coach Jonathan Gannon a solid this offseason and finally invested some resources into their defense," Dubin wrote.

"Not only did they use each of their first five draft picks on defensive players (Walter Nolen, Will Johnson, Jordan Burch, Cody Simon and Denzel Burke), they also splashed the post for Josh Sweat, Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson and Akeem Davis-Gaither in free agency.

"That is a ton of new talent, and Arizona needs it to coalesce into an average or better unit in order to improve on its performance during the first two seasons of the Gannon era."

The Cardinals undoubtedly have more than one player worthy of being dubbed "important." But what that comes with is the need for cohesion, consistency and execution.

No longer can underperformance be tied to a lack of talent. With plenty of reinforcements and plenty of rising young players, now is the time for the Cardinals' defense to take a major leap.

It's not as if they're expected to become one of the best in the NFL, but they do carry top-10 upside. Considering the plus coaching they've gotten out of Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis defensively, it seems as if this group of players has performed better than their talent level.

So while they may not have high expectations, considering their status as a bottoming group in years prior, people who follow Arizona closely know that it will need to look much better in 2025 in order to measure up to what they are capable of doing.

If that happens, the Cardinals will be in good shape.

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