Cardinals Coach Praises Dante Stills for His Solid Rookie Season

Transitioning to the NFL and making an immediate impact isn’t easy for anyone, but it’s especially rare for seventh round picks. However, Dante Stills was determined and has been making Mountaineer Nation proud this season.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon wanted to make sure everyone was aware of how well Stills is playing, bringing it up during a press conference on Wednesday.

“I don’t know if there’s a guy that’s made a bigger jump than him,” said Gannon about Stills when talking about the 2023 rookie class.

"I don't know if there's a guy that's made a bigger jump than him."

Arizona Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon says DL Dante Stills is the most improved player of the rookie class.

The 6th rounder has 3.5 sacks and 5 TFLs in his first season out of West Virginia. pic.twitter.com/4oxe1FFpXV

— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) November 22, 2023

Gannon also elaborated even more. “What he’s done for us since he’s been playing has been critical to us playing pretty good defense at times,” Gannon added.

Even though the Cardinals only sit at 2-9, Stills has made his presence felt for a team in the midst of a rebuilding season. He’s establishing himself as someone the franchise clearly sees as a piece they want to keep around.

Stills has recorded 33 total tackles with 13 solo and 3.5 sacks in 10 games played.

After waiting anxiously on the night of the NFL Draft, the Fairmont, West Virginia native was eventually selected by Arizona in sixth round with the 213th pick. The Cardinals were one of the teams who stayed in constant communication with Stills throughout the draft process.

Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 286 pounds, the Fairmont, West Virginia native owns WVU’s all-time tackle for loss record. He impressed NFL teams at events like the East-West Shrine Bowl and NFL Combine once his college career officially ended at WVU in December.

Dante Stills became the second member of his family to be drafted into the NFL. His dad played 10 years in the NFL after being drafted in the third round. Darius Stills was not drafted two years ago despite his success in college.

Below includes Stills’ pre-draft profile.

For a related story, Stills paid tribute to fellow Mountaineer legend Dale Wolfley during a game soon after his passing earlier in the season.