Cameron Thomas Labeled Cardinals' 2023 Breakout Candidate

Originally posted on FanNation All Cardinals
By Donnie Druin | Last updated 5/21/23

When it comes to the Arizona Cardinals, one of their biggest question marks comes in the form of their front seven.

The Cardinals lost starters in Zach Allen, J.J. Watt and Markus Golden during the offseason. Those three alone accounted for half of Arizona's 36 team sacks last year.

Arizona's current batch of pass-rushers features second-round pick BJ Ojulari and two second-year edge players in Myjai Sanders and Cameron Thomas.

Pro Football Focus believes Thomas could very well be the team's breakout player.

"The Cardinals are looking for help at the edge defender position after J.J. Watt‘s retirement, highlighted by their decision to draft BJ Ojulari in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft," said PFF.

"However, one key player might already have been on the roster, as 2022 third-round pick Cameron Thomas flashed potential when he got on the field last season. Thomas earned a PFF overall grade of 69.9 in his rookie campaign and ranked 42nd out of 133 qualifying edge defenders in pass-rush grade."

Thomas played just 230 snaps last season but registered three sacks on 155 pass rush snaps. He had a pass rush grade of 70.5 on PFF, which ranks third out of current players after Isaiah Simmons (83.5) and Krys Barnes (73.5).

Thomas is just 23-years-old and certainly has the upside to make noise in 2023.