Jalen

Thompson

The Cardinals reportedly plan to “ease” Harrison back into action today. Teams often cast aside snap-count plans if their recently injured star player is feeling good early in their return, but Harrison has not yet established himself as a player who regularly exceeds expectations. The prudent move is to treat WR Michael Wilson as a fantasy football WR2 and view Harrison as a WR4/FLEX. Cardinals WR Xavier Weaver (hamstring) is also active. The Cardinals declared CB Max Melton (heel), CB Elijah Jones, CB Darren Hall (concussion), S Jalen Thompson (hamstring), OL Evan Brown (personal) and LT Paris Johnson Jr. (knee) inactive for Week 16 against the Falcons.

The contract includes $24.6 million guaranteed. Thompson was set to hit free agency at the end of the season. His new deal keeps him in Arizona through the 2025 season. Originally selected by the Cardinals in the fifth round of the supplemental draft, Thompson emerged as an every-down player last year. He played on 91 percent of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps and was credited with 12 starts. He leveraged the expanded role into 121 tackles, three interceptions, and seven pass defenses.

Arizona will surrender a fifth-round pick in next April’s NFL Draft. It already had two round-five picks, so it made sense to take a flier on Thompson, who was the top talent in Wednesday’s draft. Thompson weighed in at 5'10/186 at his pro day with a 33.5-inch vertical leap and forty times of 4.47 and 4.56. Thompson considered leaving Wazzu for the 2019 draft but opted to return for his senior season only to test positive for a banned substance and lose his eligibility. He’s a bit on the smaller side for a safety, but Thompson excelled in coverage versus tight ends and slot receivers.