Zaven Collins

Drafted 16th overall in 2021, Collins didn't start as an inside linebacker until his second season, when he reached triple-digit sacks while showing well in coverage. After spending the last two seasons in Philadelphia having to watch Micah Parsons move all around the Dallas defense, new head coach Jonathan Gannon saw in Collins a similarly athletic game-wrecker he could deploy off the edge as well as in the middle. How many snaps the Tulsa product sees in each role is to be determined, but an increase on his sack total of two from 2022 should help compensate for any lost tackles.

Despite being a first-round pick of the Cards last offseason, Collins was blocked from any sort of consistent role due to the presence of seven-year pro Jordan Hicks and 2020 first-rounder Isaiah Simmons. But Collins was active for all 17 games, turning 361 snaps between defense and special teams into 25 tackles and three pass defenses. After the March release of Hicks, Collins finally will get a shot to fulfill his potential in the middle of Arizona's defense alongside Simmons, but his output could be inconsistent with all of Simmons and starting safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson vying for tackles.

For the second straight year, the Cardinals used a first-round pick on a linebacker, taking Collins 15th overall. There's an expectation that he's on pace to start right away next to 2020 first-rounder Isaiah Simmons at inside linebacker, likely meaning the team will move veteran Jordan Hicks this offseason. Even if Hicks is around in the fall, the aforementioned note should lead to plenty of snaps for Collins, a hulking specimen at 6-5, 259 pounds. In his three campaigns at Tulsa, Collins compiled 236 tackles in 32 games, which prorates to 125 stops in the NFL's new 17-game slate. With 7.5 sacks, five interceptions and two defensive touchdowns also on his college resume, he may be an immediate IDP asset as a rookie.