Breaking Down the Arizona Cardinals’ signing of Jace Whittaker

Being yet another former Wildcat who unfortunately didn’t hear his name called during the 2020 NFL Draft, luckily the Arizona Cardinals signed Jace Whittaker.

It was not an ideal 2020 NFL Draft for the Arizona Football program, as the Wildcats didn’t have a single player drafted this year. Luckily following the draft, a few guys have found a home via free agency, one of those guys is Jace Whittaker.

We already broke down the Patriots’ signing of J.J. Taylor, and we also spoke about Khalil Tate’s new journey in Philly, however, the other Wildcat that found a home this weekend was Whittaker.

Arizona Wildcats

Signing with the Cardinals via free agency, I think this will turn out to be a great fit! So why do I like Jace heading to Arizona? Well, let me break it down for you, but first I need to give a little background here.

First off, if you are an avid NFL fan, you would have seen that the Arizona Cardinals had one of the best drafts out of all 32 NFL teams. Showing a commitment to fixing their defense, it was evident as four of their six picks were on defense. That’s also not including their off-season signings of some key, veteran defensive players.

Additionally, as the Cardinals try to fix their defense, one trend you are seeing is an increase in hybrid players (guys that can play multiple positions). So where does Jace fit in that? Well, as you hopefully saw in his career here, it’s that Jace is a utility guy, a guy that can play multiple positions.

At 5-feet-11-inches and 185 pounds, Jace has decent size to play either corner back or free safety in some circumstances, and he could actually be in a unique position to do so, especially as he battles for a roster spot on the Cardinals.

So why do I feel so confidently in his chances? Well, as you may recall, Jace lined up at safety a lot this year, which put him a bit out of his normal position at corner back. While he didn’t stand out quite like he normally did from the 2017 season specifically, the experience for him was invaluable nonetheless.

Because of that, I feel Jace can use that experience to his advantage, especially as he adapts to not only the Cardinals’ defense, but more so to becoming a valuable player that can play multiple positions.

Overall, he has good speed, is solid in coverage, is good at tackling in the open field, and plays with a high IQ. Should Jace make a roster spot, he’s going to be a good role player!

Just look what he did against Hawaii last year!

At Zona Zealots, we would like to congratulate Jace on signing with the Cardinals and wish him luck as he continues to compete! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!