Arizona Cardinals: Steve Wilks Making Fullback Derrick Coleman a Priority
First-year head coach Steve Wilks has brought the fullback position back to the Arizona Cardinals with Derrick Coleman.
Although the Arizona Cardinals used to feature one of the best fullbacks in the history of the NFL, Larry Centers, the franchise has gone away from the position in recent years. Bruce Arians, the team’s former head coach that retired after the 2017 season, simply did not prioritize the dying position and made that very clear. Now that Steve Wilks is in town, though, a new emphasis has been placed on the fullback.
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At Arizona’s rookie minicamp, he stated that the position was “a major part of what we’re doing,” per SB Nation.
Derrick Coleman, a fullback who was Marshawn Lynch’s lead blocker for several years, looks like he’ll make the 53-man roster as Arizona’s primary fullback. Besides being a 235-pound tank, Coleman also brings a Super Bowl ring to the table, having won it with Seattle in 2013.
Prior to this year, the Arizona Cardinals had been fullback-less for several years. You’d have to go all the way back to the 2014 NFL season, when Notre Dame alum Robert Hughes was opening holes for Andre Ellington, to find a full-time fullback.
Fullback has been a priority of Wilks since he joined the Cardinals. From signing Coleman in the offseason to turning Elijhaa Penny into a lead-blocker, they want to run the ball and win up front. Penny, it seems, will not make the final cut as Coleman has stood out and one fullback is more than enough.
It should be noted that Coleman also got his number called early in their 27-3 win over the Dallas Cowboys, moving the chains with a powerful three-yard run on a third-and-one play call.
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With David Johnson coming back from a big-time injury and Sam Bradford being as fragile as he is, every little bit of extra protection helps.
In his 47-game NFL career, Coleman has caught 13 passes and two touchdowns out of the backfield, while carrying the ball 12 times.