The Arizona Cardinals had an awful defense in 2023. They didn’t pressure quarterbacks and didn’t cover well.
Part of the problem was Starling Thomas, whom the Cardinals acquired on a waiver claim before the season.
Despite playing in only 12 games and starting only seven, he was one of the league’s most targeted cornerbacks on the outside, according to Pro Football Focus.
He only played 215 coverage snaps but was thrown at 46 times, or 21.4%. That was the third-highest target rate in the league when lined up outside.
He did not offer much resistance as of those 46 targets, the receiver he was covering caught the ball 37 times, a completion rate of 80.43%, by far the highest completion rate against among the 10 most highly targeted cornerbacks on the outside.
On all routes, he was in coverage 236 times, allowing those 46 catches. His overall target rate was 19.49%, the seventh-highest in the league. All 37 of his catches allowed were when lined up outside. That 80.43% catch allowed rate was the highest among those listed.
The good thing about these awful coverage numbers is that he was a rookie, so there is room to improve. He will have to battle to make the roster with the addition of three cornerbacks in the draft and Sean Murphy-Bunring in free agency.
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