Arizona Cardinals: James Wiggins could be a day three steal
The Arizona Cardinals have been no strangers to the top headlines around the NFL over the past few years. From hiring Kliff Kingsbury as their head coach in 2019 to drafting Kyler Murray, then trading for De’Andre Hopkins and signing future Hall of Famer JJ Watt.
The Cardinals have been making some serious waves and they are poised to really contend for the NFC West crown in the 2021 season.
One area of the Arizona Cardinals’ roster that has been given a pretty significant infusion of youth is the defensive side of the ball where their top picks in the last two draft classes have been Zaven Collins (2021) and Isaiah Simmons (2020).
In addition to the star power on defense atop their last two draft classes, the Cardinals may have found a gem late in the 2021 NFL Draft. Specifically, they may have a gem in 2021 seventh-round pick James Wiggins out of Cincinnati.
James Wiggins is an outstanding athlete
The primary reasons that Wiggins fell to the late rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft obviously had nothing to do with his athletic ability.
Wiggins posted some big numbers including being timed at 4.40-4.42 in the 40-yard dash, 22 bench press reps, a 38-inch vertical jump, and a 10’7″ broad jump.
The problem with Wiggins is his ability (or inability) to stay on the field consistently.
He missed the 2019 season with a knee injury and then missed time in 2020 with a calf injury. He was unable to finish his pro day workout because of a hamstring injury.
At 24 years old, Wiggins will be one of the older rookies in the 2021 class but that won’t affect his ability to make an impact on the field if he can stay on it for a consistent length of time.
Wiggins has great range at the safety position, he can cover the slot, and he can attack the football in the air with reactive quickness and explosiveness.
His 2018 season at Cincinnati was a breakout year for him with 54 total tackles, two tackles for loss, nine passes broken up, and four interceptions.
He bounced back in 2020 to play solid in nine games for the Bearcats, picking off another pass and breaking up seven more.
Despite his injury history, Wiggins’ athleticism has clearly not suffered. For Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, it’s going to be all about making sure this guy can just get on the field and stay there.
If he can do that, Arizona will have a steal on their hands.