When the Arizona Cardinals’ players arrived at their training facility back in April, making their first introductions with a new coaching staff, there was one player who Mike LaFleur wanted to seek out.
As the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator, LaFleur had twice prepared for Jordan Burch. He saw his hulking 6-foot-4, 280-pound frame, paired with the athleticism to run a 4.67-second 40-yard dash. He also, presumably, saw a lack of production: A player who, as a rookie, played 44% of snaps but finished with just one sack, one tackle for loss and a paltry 6.8% pressure rate.
So LaFleur, sensing the ability to mold Burch into something greater, had a message for his young edge rusher.
“I think you can be as good as you want to be,” LaFleur told
him.
In many ways, Burch’s second season will be the litmus test on that prediction. It’s one thing to lack consistent production as a rookie. Burch was selected with the 78th overall pick, not exactly part of the draft in which players are expected to contribute instantly. But that’s still the third round, where expectations are real.
During training camp, those expectations have quickly become clear. On the Cardinals’ first snap of 11-on-11 work last week, Burch was right there, lined up as an edge rusher with the starting defense. He has since rotated in and out of that role, sharing time primarily with Zaven Collins and Baron Browning, while Josh Sweat remains on the physically unable to perform list. Come Week 1, it seems that he will be a relied-upon piece off the pass rush.
In explaining that increased responsibility, both Burch and his coaches have pointed to his increased comfort dropping into coverage in defensive coordinator Nick Rallis’ scheme. Last year, Burch said, he didn’t always know what coverage was behind him, or where exactly he needed to be. Now, after 27 pass coverage snaps as a rookie — nearly as many as in his entire college career — he feels more natural in that area.
“If (the coaches) see if I'm out there dropping and I have confidence being able to do it and then third down, I'm able to rush, they can put me out there whenever they need me,” Burch said.
But while Burch’s increased comfort in coverage may help him get on the field, it is not the barometer by which success will be measured. That’s not how life works as an edge rusher.
And last year, Burch’s 6.8% pressure rate ranked 92nd out of 94 edge rushers with at least 200 pass rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Among that same group, he was one of just four players to not record multiple sacks.
That’s a problem for the Cardinals, because they have few other places to turn for pass rushing production. There’s Josh Sweat, who finished last season with a career-high 12 sacks, and precious little else. No other player on the current roster finished last season with more than two sacks. For comparison, every team in the NFL last year had multiple players with at least four sacks.
This season, Walter Nolen should join Sweat in hitting that mark. He was excellent as a rookie when healthy by showcasing the explosiveness that made him the No. 16 overall pick.
But who else can consistently get to the quarterback? Zaven Collins and Baron Browning are both known quantities; neither has more than five sacks in a season. B.J. Ojulari appears mired on the depth chart. Darius Robinson has a 3.2% pressure rate across two seasons. Roy Lopez, Andrew Billings and L.J. Collier are journeymen rotation pieces on the interior.
Burch, though, still has the potential that the Cardinals drafted a year ago.
Given his physical traits, Burch’s go-to move has long been a speed-to-power rush, in which he bursts upfield and then attempts to explode through the offensive tackle’s chest. This offseason, his focus has been on expanding his repertoire of moves, so that opposing linemen have more to think about when blocking him.
“Then being able to do what I'm good at,” Burch said. “So if it's speed to power, then working something off of it. That's been (outside linebackers coach Matt Feeney’s) main focus with me.”
It’s too early in training camp to know, just yet, if that work has paid off. But it’s already clear that the Cardinals are relying on Burch to take that leap. Given their other options, it’s not hard to see why.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals banking on this edge rusher to make leap in 2026
