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Deionte Thompson depth chart impact for Arizona Cardinals

By Sayre Bedinger

BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 03: Deionte Thompson #14 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after the LSU Tigers missed a second half field goal at Tiger Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alabama won the game 29-0. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 03: Deionte Thompson #14 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after the LSU Tigers missed a second half field goal at Tiger Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alabama won the game 29-0. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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The Arizona Cardinals have some nice young players in their secondary. Can fifth-round pick Deionte Thompson alter the FS depth chart?

Deionte Thompson was a first-team All-American in 2018 and was expected to be one of the highest players picked at his position in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Until he wasn’t.

Thompson fell all the way to the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft where the Cardinals scooped him up with the top pick in the round.

How does he affect their depth chart?

Here’s a look at the Cardinals’ safeties prior to the 2019 draft:

DJ Swearinger
Budda Baker
Rudy Ford
Ezekiel Turner
Jonathan Owens

Arizona very clearly needed someone to come in and at least provide a top option off the sideline at safety, and Thompson is an incredible value for them.

https://twitter.com/AZCardinals/status/1122221314868011008

At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, Thompson had some of the best range of any safety in this year’s draft.

As the NFL scouting report states, he’s a pure free safety which means he’s going to roam around the back end of that defense and read the quarterback, trying to create takeaways.

And that’s just what I believe he will do in the NFL.

With Thompson in the fold, I think the Cardinals will probably start him off this season as their third safety behind Swearinger and Baker, and give him a shot to start at some point this year.

He had 78 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and six pass breakups this past season for Alabama en route to the CFB Playoff championship game.

Thompson apparently fell in the draft due to some concerns around the league about a degenerative knee condition. We’ll have to wait and see how health plays a factor in his NFL translatability, but more Alabama players seem to be having long careers lately than were previously in the Nick Saban era.

I remember a few years ago when Eddie Jackson fell in the draft because some people thought he was just a cherry picker in a talented Nick Saban defense, but he’s proven to be a major difference maker in the NFL.

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Thompson can prove himself to be the same and is going to a situation in Arizona where his playmaking abilities are desperately needed.

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