The Cardinals got their offseason program underway this week, signaling the start of a new era under head coach Jonathan Gannon.
There have also been some significant personnel shifts on defense, with J.J. Watt retiring and Zach Allen signing with the Broncos. Linebacker Zaven Collins — a first-round pick in 2021 — wants to help fill that potential leadership void.
“The leadership role of last year for me was, I can be a leader when I earn the right to be a leader,” Collins said in his Tuesday press conference. “And guys, I think, that I’ve talked to — JT’s [Jalen Thompson] one of them, Budda [Baker’s] one of them, Zay [Isaiah Simmons] — they trust me, I earned their trust. So midway through the season, I could tell them, ‘Hey, we don’t want to do this,’ or, ‘Let’s do this.’ And Budda would be like, ‘No, we’re doing this.’ So I was like, ‘OK, we’ll do what Budda wants to do.’
“But that’s kind of how it goes. But you have to earn your trust. You have to earn your way to be able to argue with those guys. And I think I earned their trust last year. But yes, taking that stepping stone and being a leader is something I definitely want to do.”
Collins recorded 100 tackles with 11 tackles for loss and four QB hits last season. He also had 2.0 sacks, an interception, six passes defensed, and a forced fumble.