Rookie edge rushers Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders plan to bring the heat for Cardinals

One of them models his entire game after childhood idol J.J. Watt and the other hopes to be the next version of Von Miller with a bit of Markus Golden and Haason Reddick thrown in.

If the Cardinals plan to fill the gaping hole they have at edge rusher following Chandler Jones’ free-agent departure to the Raiders, maybe the rookie duo of third-round draft picks Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders can do the trick.

During their introductory news conference Thursday at the team’s Tempe training facility, they both seem to think it’s possible. If Thomas, the 87th overall selection out of San Diego State, and Sanders, the 100th pick from Cincinnati, can live up to even a portion of the players they emulate and aspire to become, there’s at least a chance, right?

“It’ll be a real nasty combination,” predicts Sanders, who at 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing 255 pounds at least resembles Jones, the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks. “… Two young guys as we are coming in and showing the motor that we have, it’s going to be very hard to stop us in the next couple years, I can definitely tell you that.”

The 6-5, 265-pound Thomas said Watt, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has always been his role model and he sees commonalities with the five-time, first-team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection in himself.

“I see a lot of similarities,” Thomas said. “During my time at San Diego State, I would line up all over the line of scrimmage and that’s something he also does, and he just dominates. Wherever you line him up, he’s just going to win.”

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Both players rely on relentless pursuit and maximum effort to bring down quarterbacks and cause disruption in the backfield. They combined for 63½ tackles for loss and 34½ sacks during their college careers and each were semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top defender.

According to the analytics website ProFootballFocus, Thomas had the second most pressures among all FBS edge defenders last season (77), including four or more in 13 of the 14 games he played. He also had a sack in nine straight games, finishing with 11½ to lead the Mountain West Conference. His 20½ tackles for loss tied the single-season conference record.

Sanders, meanwhile, led the American Athletic Conference with 62 total pressures, including 27 during his final four games alone. He had 31 tackles, including 10½ for loss, to go along with seven sacks and five passed defended in 10 games during the 2020 season before finishing with 41 tackles (7½ for loss) and 2½ sacks last year.

“When you watch him on tape, I loved how disruptive he was but then you go back and say, ‘This guy must have had eight or nine sacks,’” Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim said of Sanders. “He was more disruptive than productive and that’s not a knock against him. He affected the quarterback and sometimes that means a lot. With his length and ability, I think where he’s going at the next level, he’ll be able to take off.”

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Keim said Thomas would have been selected much higher had it not been for a hamstring injury that prevented him from running at the NFL scouting combine and his Pro Day. But just like Sanders, he said, when you turn on the tape, the tape doesn’t lie.

“A great motor. Highly intelligent. Versatile in a number of ways. You see his production,” Keim said. “But the tape that you watch, his style, the way that he plays with his hands, he’s a really, really good player. I think he’s the kind of guy that could contribute immediately.”

Thomas wore jersey No. 99 because of his affinity for Watt, whose game tape he has been studying for years now. Keim said Thomas, who will wear No. 97 in Arizona, also has some of the same mannerisms as Watt and joked that he texted the latter to “apologize that we could potentially have a stalker situation on our hands.”

“Him and Zach Allen will be following (Watt) around like puppies, but that’s a good thing,” Keim said. “If they’re both in here at six every day and stay until four, we’re good with it. You get real excited because those are football junkies and the guys that are vested in what you’re doing.”

Thomas was asked what it will mean to him to be able to learn more about the art of pass rushing from Watt and just to be able to hang out with him as teammates.

“Well, I haven’t met him yet,” he said, “but I might be like a little kid when I meet him. Seriously, we’ll see how that goes, but I’m really excited just to meet him.”

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As for Sanders, he said that although he tries to pattern his style of play after Miller, the eight-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl champion who now plays for the Bills, his game also compares to that of Golden and Reddick.

“I’m definitely going to come in and try to put my best foot forward,” Sanders said. “And I’m definitely going to try and take a big leap in my career as a rookie. In my second year, I’ll definitely be more ready, but I’m going to try to be as ready as I can as a rookie and play the most I can and do the most I can when I get my opportunities.”

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He’s already struck up a relationship with Golden, who will man one of the Cardinals’ two starting outside linebacker spots. Dennis Gardeck and Devon Kennard are the leading candidates for the other, with both Thomas and Sanders getting their looks as well, even if it is in a reserve role for now. Thomas can also play defensive end, like Watt. Keim and coach Kliff Kingsbury have said Thomas might be used at both positions.

Kingsbury is confident defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has the talent at his disposal to get after the quarterback just like the Cardinals did in 2020, when they finished tied for fourth in the league with 48 sacks despite losing Jones for the final 11 games that year because of a torn biceps.

“Yeah, I am,” he said. “I thought that year V.J. and the defensive staff did a tremendous job of scheming things up and coming up with new pressures, different ways to get home. The sack numbers were still there. So, we’re excited about adding these two pieces (in Thomas and Sanders). I really think it adds depth to that room and they’re both dynamic rushers.”

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals rookies Cameron Thomas, Myjai Sanders plan to bring the heat