Cardinals training camp: Zaven Collins getting some ILB looks

USA Today

5 days ago

Zaven Collins was getting snaps at inside linebacker in training camp. What did Jonathan Gannon have to say?
The Arizona Cardinals began their second week of training camp this week and early in the week, there was an interesting change. Those in attendance noticed that outside linebacker Zaven Collins was in a different position. He was lined up off the ball at inside linebacker with Mack Wilson.
This, of course, would be a very interesting change, as he was drafted originally to play inside linebacker but moved to the edge when Jonathan Gannon became head coach.
He also saw snaps at outside linebacker.
This led to a question for head coach Jonathan Gannon on Tuesday — what is the plan with Collins?
The plan, per Gannon, is to "play outside linebacker and utilize his versatility."
So will we see him at both positions? Perhaps, but this isn't anything different than how he has been used over the last two years. Collins will tell you that he hasn't just been at the edge. He has lined up on inside on the defensive line, played off the ball and blitzed from the inside.
It just happened to be that on those snaps, he was back where he started.
The Cardinals' third-down package on defense, sometimes called their "Nascar" package because it deploys five or six linebackers with either one or no defensive tackle on the field. They all stand up at the line of scrimmage, makinig it difficult for the opposing quarterback to identify who is rushing, who is dropping and where the assignments on defense will be.
So while it was surprising in practice to see him in an old spot, we shouldn't expect it much once the regular season begins.
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