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NFL LB rankings: PFF ranks Arizona Cardinals near bottom
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- NFL LB rankings: PFF ranks Arizona Cardinals near bottom
The NFL season is a little more than two weeks away, and that gives us just a little more time to make lists and rank players and units. PFF ranked the linebacking corps of all 32 NFL teams .
As you can probably guess, the Arizona Cardinals find themselves near the bottom of the list.
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They come in 30th out of 32 teams.
Mack Wilson and Cody Simon return as starters for the Cardinals after a tough 2025 season. Wilson earned a 60.1 PFF grade, missing 16.4% of his tackles, while Simon missed 19.0% of his tackles and garnered a 56.1 PFF grade. It wouldn't be a huge shock to see Jack Gibbens, who missed just 8.6% of his tackles, move into a starting role before the end of the season.
Simon actually doesn't seem to be tracking as the second starter. That appears to be Gibbens, although the truth is that both Simon and Gibbens will both play a lot alongside Wilson.
Wilson is highly regarded in the locker room and by coaches, but he is probably an average NFL starting linebacker.
Although he was a rookie, when Simon started the final nine games in 2025, the defense was the worst in the league. They lost all nine of those games and allowed 37 or more points in six of them.
The defensive line and edge presence in front of the Cardinals' linebackers doesn't look any better than last season, so the conditions for Wilson and company aren't any better.
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We will see soon enough how good they look together in 2026.
While such a low ranking doesn't feel good, it does make sense, based on what they have shown.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL LB rankings: PFF ranks Arizona Cardinals near bottom
