Detroit TE Sam LaPorta‘s difficult sophomore season has taken a turn for the worse thanks to a low ankle sprain; Cleveland’s offensive line was already having health issues and now RG Wyatt Teller (knee) could miss multiple weeks; and Tennessee’s pass D will take a hit with starting CB Chidobe Awuzie (groin) possibly heading to IR.
Last year, the Arizona Cardinals defense was definitely one to avoid for Fantasy purposes. After all, they finished second last in points allowed per game and ranked only 24th in takeaways.
It’s going to take some time for this unit to turn things around in earnest as part of an overall team rebuild, but do not sleep on the Cards’ D — they may surprise a few people this year.
In fact, if you need a D/ST to stream in Week Four, some believe Arizona’s one to consider, and they may have a point with the team facing a Washington squad that’s coming off a short week.
It was no surprise that Arizona’s D was shredded by Buffalo in Week One, but the unit came up huge with five sacks and a fumble recovery to support a shocking 41-10 win over the Rams in Week Two.
This weekend, Arizona was on the losing end again (to Detroit), but it wasn’t an awful showing at all — in fact, they shut the Lions out in the second half. If the run defense can step up, there’s a lot more potential for this unit than most people think.
In fact, if not for a nullified pick six by Mack Wilson Sr. (called back because apparently the ball wasn’t snapped before the two-minute warning), this game could have been a lot different.
Sixth-year LB Mack Wilson Sr. had an excellent game, recording eight tackles (a season-high five of them assists) and his first sack of the year. Signed this offseason to help improve the Cards’ linebacker situation, he’s also shown an ability to play the edge from time to time (see video below). Wilson has nearly matched his assist tackle total from all of last season already and has tied his 2023 stuffs total.
Strong in coverage, he was was a top 160 IDP player heading into the season and is now likely a top 60 LB option. And if you’re into this sort of thing, apparently Wilson is also a pretty good trash talker.
Speaking of getting shredded by the Buffalo Bills, Arizona is not alone in that fate this season. The Bills have surged into the early lead in the AFC East by going undefeated — after taking out Arizona, they smothered Miami and then completely dominated Jacksonville.
Behind it all, as per usual, is quarterback Josh Allen. When we last checked in on him just under two years ago, he had recently moved into third place in franchise history in passing yards.
Last year, Allen took a slight step back, but so far in 2024 he seems destined to enjoy a career year as he’s completed 75 per cent of his passes and has not been picked once (after interceptions proved a massive issue for him in 2023). By season’s end, he could either pass or be breathing down the back of Joe Ferguson for second place on that all-time Bills’ leaderboard.
With star wide receiver Stefon Diggs gone, Allen is now free to spread the targets around, and it’s a formula that’s clearly working.
Allen is proving he’s capable of finishing as the QB1 this season, and even with a tough matchup in Baltimore, he’s still the top option for Week Four. No wonder he’s among the best choices (+250 as per FanDuel) to win AP NFL regular season MVP.
James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix — who was born Johnny Allen Hendrix — was known to the world more succinctly as Jimi Hendrix, arguably the greatest rock guitarist who ever lived, but who was unfortunately snatched from us far too early. The first of many, many posthumuous albums was The Cry of Love (1970), and the lead single from this effort was “Freedom,” one of the top songs he recorded in the months before his death.
The post NFL Today: Cardinal D Better Than Expected first appeared on RotoRob.