Where does former Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe fit in the Arizona Cardinals’ defense? Well, where does any player fit in the Cardinals’ defense?

Arizona undertook an overhaul this offseason, with new general manager Monti Ossenfort and new head coach Jonathan Gannon.

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Gannon directed the Philadelphia defense as the Eagles won the NFC championship last season, and he brought his linebackers coach with him to serve as Arizona’s defensive coordinator, making Nick Rallis, at 29 years old, the youngest man in that position in the NFL.

Only one NFL team gave up more points than Arizona in 2022, although 11 defenses yielded more yards than the Cardinals. Arizona gave up the most yards after receptions in the NFL last season and, despite having the second-highest blitz rate in the league, finished in the bottom 10 in sacks.

The combination of new coaches and old inadequacies has the Cardinals’ defense in an offseason upheaval. Arizona has two first-round holdovers at linebacker in Zaven Collins and Isaiah Simmons, and Kyzir White came over from Philadelphia in free agency with Gannon and Rallis.

Gannon has announced no definite plans about what the 2023 defense will look like or which players will be where. Asked about the defensive setup at a veterans minicamp held during draft week, Gannon said: “Week 1, you’ll find out.”

Pappoe comes in as a fifth-round draft choice who made an impression on Gannon in the predraft process, and not just because he became the third linebacker since 2000 to run faster than 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and also led the linebackers at this year’s event in bench-press reps.

“When you ask the question to players, college guys: What did you study in college?” Gannon said. “And he was in the exercise science-type deal, and he basically said, ‘I really want to be a strength coach after I’m done playing in the NFL.’ And he looks that way. But I just thought that was kind of cool answer because he was a little bit lighter. Played safety, then kind of changed his body.

“I think he fits the description for what we’re looking for. Everybody has different things they like to do with linebackers in this day and age, but one of our huge criteria of linebacking play is being able to play in space. And Kyzir was a safety at one point in his career, and he’s really no different, so the ability to run from sideline to sideline, to match routes and cover receivers, that’s all critical to that position.

“Another guy who came in here on his top 30 (visit), and I remember shutting the door and I was like, ‘Geez, man, that guy is on it. We’d love to get him.’”

Gannon made an impression on Pappoe, too, during the linebacker’s predraft visit.

“I remember even leaving that 30 visit,” Pappoe said during an appearance on “Bickley and Marotta” on arizonasports.com, “and I’m just thinking to myself, ‘Wow, man, I know coach Gannon and the guys there, they’re really determined to turn things around for this organization, and I really want to be a part of it.’”

After four seasons at Auburn, Pappoe comes to Arizona ready to play in the NFL, Rallis said.

“I think one thing that I’m very excited about is his ability to process, diagnose,” Rallis said. “He’s got a natural feel for the play in there. You can tell he’s played a long time at a high level in college football. You can see whether it’s a run play: ‘Getting to where I have to get to. Oh, here comes this blocker. Let me transfer my eyes to the block, defeat the block, get back to getting to the ball-carrier.’ Very polished with his skill set at that position.”

Another former Auburn linebacker, Karlos Dansby, played eight of his 14 NFL seasons with the Cardinals, including an appearance in Arizona’s only Super Bowl – a 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL championship game on Feb. 1, 2009.

“I got to meet Karlos actually last summer,” Pappoe said. “He was just giving me tips on the game, tips on longevity, taking care of your body and stuff. It’s kind of crazy how another Auburn linebacker’s coming through, so I’m going to try to live up to the hype.”

Pappoe came in at Auburn with a 9-4 team that defeated Alabama 48-45 in the Iron Bowl in 2019. But the Tigers posted records of 6-7 and 5-7 in his final two seasons on the Plains.

“Just learning true perseverance,” Pappoe said about his college career. “It was a lot of ups, a lot of downs. It’s easy to be on your high horse when you’re at the peaks of the valleys, but when you’re down in those valleys, you got to keep your head strong and fight through the hard times. These last two seasons were pretty bumpy for us. Back-to-back losing seasons, but I still tried to be my best to be a leader for that team, keep guys’ heads up and let them know that even though things aren’t going the way we plan on going, we still got to go out there and perform for these die-hard fans out there supporting us every week.”

Arizona selected Pappoe at 168th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

“I was surprised where we got him, honestly,” Gannon said.

The Cardinals started the draft holding the 168th selection. In the first round, Arizona traded the choice to the Detroit Lions – swapping the 12th, 34th and 168th picks for the sixth and 81st – so the Cardinals could have first crack at the offensive tackles available. Arizona chose Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr.

In the third round, the Lions and Cardinals made another trade. This time, Arizona sent the 96th selection to Detroit for the 122nd, 139th and 168th picks. The Lions moved up to pick Western Kentucky defensive tackle Brodric Martin, a former Northridge High School and North Alabama standout.

Like Gannon, Pappoe thought he would be drafted sooner than he was.

“Just seeing how many teams passed up on me, I can’t wait to show them why they made a mistake,” Pappoe said.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.