Arizona Cardinals left tackle D.J. Humphries had a great season last year in 2020. He arguably should have been a Pro Bowler, although that is hard when he plays in the same conference as perennial Pro Bowlers Trent Williams and David Bakhtiari.
But in this year’s rankings of the top 11 tackles in the NFL from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, Humphries not only cracks the top 11, he comes in at No. 7.
The Cardinals took Humphries out of Florida with the 24th pick in the 2015 draft, and he didn’t appear NFL-ready out of the gate, allowing nine sacks and 46 total pressures in his rookie campaign. But over the last two seasons in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense, Humphries has allowed a total of five sacks and 53 pressures, and he was especially on point last season, with three sacks, two quarterback hits, and 18 quarterback hurries allowed, and strong performances when the Cardinals decided to run the ball.
On this Week 15 rep against Eagles edge-rusher Genard Avery that ends up as a Kyler Murray 45-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins, watch how Humphries mirrors Avery perfectly from side to side, allowing no pressure leaks.
Add in his formidable ability to separate pass rushers from their intentions with his strong hands, and improved run-blocking, and it’s become clear that Humphries should not be ignored as one of the NFL’s better left tackles.
Humphries has come a long way since his disappointing rookie season. He has stayed healthy the last two years and has developed into a great tackle.
At this rate, he is on track to be a Cardinals lifer, something we haven’t seen from a left tackle since Luis Sharpe.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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