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When watching the Arizona Cardinals’ defense this season, it’s easy to see there’s something different about Jalen Thompson.
Teammates and coaches have praised the Cardinals safety as one of the most-improved defensive players on the team, particularly when it comes to making open-field tackles.
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“I would say Jalen is probably one of the most, if not the most underrated defensive player in the NFL,” veteran safety Chris Banjo told reporters earlier this season.
Thompson, 23, ranks as the Cardinals’ second-leading tackler this season with 69, including 45 solo stops. Only linebacker Jordan Hicks has more (74 total, 49 solo).
“He’s making those plays,” cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. told reporters. “When the ball gets to him, our biggest thing is just to get the ball down, and he’s been doing that.”
Thompson’s second-quarter interception also was one of the few bright spots in the Cardinals’ 34-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, November 14. It was his first INT of the season and the second of his career.
Thompson credits his on-field success in his third NFL season in part to a goal in set during the offseason.
“The biggest goal for me this offseason was just to get strong,” Thompson said on the “Big Red Rage” radio show and podcast Thursday, November 18. “I felt like I needed to get a lot stronger, put on a couple pounds, so I could be able to play in the box a little more.”
Thompson said he hit the gym every day — “sometimes even two or three times a day” — to accomplish that goal. He also got help with his nutrition during the offseason, he said.
Thompson, now listed at 190 pounds, gained about 10 pounds during his offseason training regimen. The increased strength has helped with his tackling, he said.
“I can see it translating on the field on game days, so that’s always a plus,” Thompson said.
DC Vance Joseph Says Safety ‘Has It All‘
Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thompson was about 175 pounds when he reported to camp prior to the 2019 season.
Arizona selected the 5-foot-11 safety from Washington State in the fifth round of the 2019 supplemental draft and met him for the first time at the start of training camp, Joseph said.
“He showed up as an undersized, very quiet, unassuming guy, and he grew into a player about Week 10 that season,” Joseph said, reflecting on Thompson’s rookie season. “We saw it in practice. The cover ability, the contact violence he plays with — that’s rare stuff for a little guy with the coverage ability of a nickel, and that’s what he brings to the table.”
Thompson made steady progress in his rookie season, staring nine games. An ankle injury in the first game of 2020 bothered him for much of his second season and sidelined the safety for all but five games.
“You would think he played all of last season (with) the progress that he’s made, the strides that he’s made, and you can tell he’s still progressing,” Banjo said.
Thompson returned bigger and stronger this season, and it’s made a difference, Joseph said.
“It’s rare to see a safety that can tackle so efficiently in the open field,” he said. “Most guys miss some of those tackles; he rarely misses tackles. … And he has it all. He can cover, he can run and hit, and his football IQ is growing every day.”
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Following the Teachings of Budda
Thompson also credits his improved play to following the example and advice of All-Pro safety Budda Baker.
“Budda has taught me a lot of things,” he said. “Mainly we’ve been been focusing just on the little things — the stuff that’s going to take me from a great player to an elite player like him.”
Baker, a first-team All-Pro safety last season and a three-time Pro Bowler, has long been one of the Cardinals’ top tacklers. Thompson said he watches the way Baker practices and how he tackles in games, and it motivates him to play at that same level.
“Seeing him and seeing how he does certain things on the field in his tackling, I know I’ve got to step up and make those exact same plays when they come my way,” he said.
Baker has been battling a heel injury and did not practice again Friday, November 19. He’s listed as questionable against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, November 21, but Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said he expects him to play.
Questions Remain at QB
The injury report also lists starting quarterback Kyler Murray and backup Colt McCoy as questionable in Week 11.
Murray has been sidelined since injuring his ankle in the final moments of the Cardinals’ 24-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers on October 28. Whether he plays in Seattle will be a game-time decision, Kingsbury said.
“We’ve definitely progressed,” Kingsbury told reporters. “We want to make sure that he’s in a place where he can play his game, protect himself, and do all those things, and if he can, he’ll be out there.”
Kingsbury said the Cardinals want to make sure Murray is able to use his speed and acceleration when under pressure.
“He’s got to be able to use that to get away, escape trouble — things that he does naturally and instinctively,” he said. “We’re still trying to get to that point. … If he can’t get away like he’s used to doing, then you don’t want to put him in harm’s way where that (ankle) can get rolled up on again.”
Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has been ruled against the Seahawks, Kingsbury said.
As for McCoy, Kingsbury said he’s “getting there” in his recovery from a pectoral injury.
If neither Murray nor McCoy is able to play in Seattle, third-string QB Chris Streveler will make his first NFL start. Streveler stepped in late against the Panthers after McCoy left the game. He completed 6 of 9 passes for 36 yards and was sacked twice.
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