Arizona Cardinals Showing Depth at Wide Receiver
By Scott Allen
Aug 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Walt Powell (83) is pushed out of bound by Houston Texans cornerback A.J. Bouye in the second quarter during a preseason game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Cardinals showed this past Saturday night that they do indeed have some depth at the wide receiver position. Yes, it was preseason so more players will see action but in the end they still have seven wide receivers catch at least one pass from the three Cardinals quarterbacks. That is not including the three catches by tight ends and the two by running backs.
The prevailing thought is the Cards will keep at least five receivers. They had as many as five last season but at times went with just four given the number of other guys at tight end and running back that could catch the ball. The Cards are going to be hard pressed to keep just four receivers. I think they could keep as many as six but realistically I’d say five.
Rookie John Brown caught five passes for 87 yards in his professional debut. Another rookie Walt Powell had three grabs for 74 yards. Brittan Golden had the most receptions at 7 for a total of 45 yards. Of course they started the game with the veteran Larry Fitzgerald who caught two passes for 11 yards but one of those catches was for a touchdown.
These stats don’t include Michael Floyd, who sat out of the game and also Ted Ginn, who did not record a reception. Jaron Brown had a couple of nice receptions. Dan Buckner local product out of the University of Arizona, had a couple of receptions, one of which went for a touchdown. Another local guy, Kevin Ozier from Arizona State, made a really nice catch on Saturday night.
We still have three more preseason games but based on practice and the first preseason game so far, the decision may be amongst the toughest for the Cards coaching staff on the last one or two receiver spots. Assume Fitz, Floyd, and Ginn stay. Ginn helps out on special teams too, so he isn’t going anywhere. John Brown is making this team, which leaves one, maybe two spots. Right now it’s up for grabs amongst any of those other guys. You can’t rule any of them out yet.