Predicting 2016 Arizona Cardinals WR depth chart
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals have a number of weapons at their disposal at the receiver position
In the next two years, we know one guy will fall off this depth chart for the Arizona Cardinals. Larry Fitzgerald likely has one or two more seasons left. I would be hard pressed to say just one with both the way he played in 2015 and the fact he is still just 31 years-old. He will turn 32 right before the 2016 season.
After Fitzgerald there are a slew of good receivers. The Cardinals have been waiting for Michael Floyd to take over. He did have a slightly better season in 2015 than 2014. He caught 52 passes in 2015 after receiving 47 in 2014. He did seem to be much more consistent with his activity in 2015 though over the course of the 15 games he played in.
Then there is John Brown. The only game he missed was the Cleveland Browns game. He was active but did not play. Despite the one less game played, he still made a nice leap in productivity. He had 65 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns in 2015. Those were all improvements over 2014 (48/696/5).
After Brown there is a conglomerate of good receivers in Jaron Brown, J.J. Nelson, Brittan Golden (although he could move to defense full time), and now Jaxon Shipley who spent the 2015 season on the practice squad. Is there really room to add there? Is there really a need to change much? The answer for 2016 at least is no and no.
Here is a look at the predicted receiver depth chart:
Larry Fitzgerald
Michael Floyd
John Brown
J.J. Nelson
Jaron Brown
Jaxon Shipley
They will likely add a body or two for training camp purposes but honestly can’t see the Cardinals making a splash with anyone. It will be very tough to crack this depth chart. The only way these six change is if someone gets hurt. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
I don’t know if Fitz can have another year of production like he did in 2015 but I see no reason why he couldn’t. The only way I see him bowing out after 2016 is if they win the Super Bowl. Otherwise I think 2017 would likely be his last season. From top to bottom of the depth chart, there isn’t much better in the NFL.