TEMPE, Ariz. -- When the Arizona Cardinals traded for linebacker Chandler Jones in March, veteran defensive lineman Frostee Rucker knew about as much about his newest defensive teammate as everybody else.

He knew Jones could rush the passer.

At 26, Jones came to Arizona as an established elite edge rusher. He was coming off a 12.5-sack season with the New England Patriots in 2015, his second double-digit sack total in three years, and was widely considered a top-five pass-rusher in the league.

But as Rucker and his teammates quickly learned, there was more to Jones.

“He’s not just here to pass rush,” Rucker said. “He plays the run very well. And he’s a hell of a pass-rusher.

“Everyone looks at statistics: He got a whole bunch of sacks. But if he only got 10 sacks in a season, what did he do on the other 1,000 plays he played? When we look at the film, what is he doing in our run game? Is he setting the point? He practices very hard at his craft and he’s an overall great player.”

Jones' sack numbers are common knowledge to those who follow the Cardinals. He has five after seven games after getting one in each of his first four games. But his impact on the Cardinals’ run defense can’t be overlooked. In 155 run-defense snaps he has 11 stops, according to Pro Football Focus. His run-stop percentage of 7.1 ranks 16th among outside linebackers in the 3-4 formation.

When Jones is on the field, offenses average 3.8 yards per rush, according to ESPN Stats & Information. When he’s not on the field, that number balloons to 5 yards per rush.

Jones’ arm length -- he’s one of six players in the NFL with a wingspan of at least 7-feet-1, according to ESPN Stats & Information -- has allowed him to set an edge that’s tough for defenders to circumvent, Cardinals outside linebackers coach Bob Sanders said. When Sanders added Jones’ physicality and toughness, he couldn’t help but call him “very good.”

But Jones isn’t -- and might never be -- known for his run-stopping skills. He’s a pass-rusher through and through.

“Just those long arms,” Sanders said. “If you look at a lot of premier pass-rushers, they do have that length, which allows them to stand a little bit further away so it’s a little bit harder to grab him and bottle him up because he has that length.”

Chandler Jones had 36 sacks in 55 games with the Patriots from 2012 to 2015. Winslow Townson/AP Images for Panini

In his first four years in the NFL, Jones learned how to use his length under the guidance of New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as a defensive end. When the Cardinals acquired Jones, they moved him to outside linebacker. The goal was the same -- get to the quarterback -- but the theories and execution changed.

He’s had to learn to play standing up instead of with his hand in the dirt. He’s had to learn new sight lines, which Sanders said was a “process” at first.

“Occasionally, when his eyes aren’t right, I’d say, ‘Hey, what happened?’ and he said, ‘My eyes weren’t right,’” Sanders said. “He knows that now. He knows he gets himself in trouble when he’s not looking at the right things.

“He’s done much better learning those kinds of things.”

Jones has played 418 of Arizona’s 441 defensive snaps, fourth-most on the defense and most for a non-defensive back. In 274 pass-rush snaps, Jones has five sacks, eight hits, 24 hurries and one batted pass, per PFF. He also has 48 quarterback contacts, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Opposing QBR has dropped from 53.2 when Jones is on the sideline to 41.9 when he’s on the field. He's the only player in the NFL with at least five sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries this season.

And quarterbacks have longer to throw when Jones is out of the game. Opposing quarterbacks average 2.37 seconds per play in the pocket and 2.59 seconds per play before passing when Jones isn’t on the field. When he is, however, they average 2.22 seconds per play in the pocket and 2.39 seconds before passing.

“Chandler’s an impact player,” defensive tackle Corey Peters said. “He’s one of those guys -- and in this league there’s a handful of guys -- where you can say, ‘OK, this is a 10-plus sack guy, so we’ll take him and we’ll put him on any team and he’s going to get you those sacks. He’s been incredibly good for us just rushing the passer and he’s good against the run as well.

“He’s just an every-down outside linebacker and he’s made us better.”

There’s the length. There’s the quickness. There’s the toughness. They’re all tangible assets that have turned Jones into one of the more proficient edge rushers of the last few years. He’s the No. 3-ranked edge defender in the league, according to PFF, behind Denver’s Von Miller and Philadelphia’s Brandon Graham.

Jones is ranked as the No. 1 pass-rusher among all edge defenders by PFF.

“He’s just so natural and he just feels things because he plays fast,” Sanders said. “And because he plays fast, he’s able to feel leverage and he feels things that a lot of guy don’t feel -- a lot of things you can’t coach.

“He’s been blessed with that knack, that 'it,' that feel. For as tall as he is (6-foot-5), he plays with good leverage. It looks like sometimes that he may not be moving fast, but he’s covering a lot of ground fast, and he’s powerful with his leverage. I think when you put all those things together -- the instincts, the get-off, the ability to have leverage, the ability to turn the corner sharp and still generate the power with his length – you got a pretty good player.”