The Arizona Cardinals have a mini-camp remaining before training camp in July
We continue our annual look at player by player from A to Z on the current Arizona Cardinals roster as we are now in the final part of the offseason schedule with a three-day mini-camp upcoming this week. The next stop is training camp on July 28th.
In this profile we look at center Evan Boehm. Boehm was drafted by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of the University of Missouri.
2015: Boehm was a team captain at Mizzou in 2015. He started 52 consecutive games for them.
2016 outlook: He comes to Arizona immediately in competition for the starting center position, which was left void by the departure of Lyle Sendlein. Boehm will compete with A.Q. Shipley for the starting center job.
Boehm has the chance to fit in well with the Cardinals offense. He has experience snapping the ball out of shotgun formation. His strengths include being able to handle both bull rushers and perform well in pass protection. Having the ability to be proficient at both will be important.
Boehm has been knocked on for his lack of athleticism, however I don’t believe that is a major concern for the Cardinals. He has very powerful upper body strength and can locate opponents well.
He is guy that fought to stay on the field at Mizzou. He played in every game in his college career. The Cardinals will need that kind of consistency from him whether he starts or not. Staying healthy and fighting to play every Sunday will be key to the depth of the offensive line.
There is a belief that Boehm has a real shot to be the starter at center come September 11th against the New England Patriots. We’ll see. There’s a mini-camp and then training camp to get through, hope he stays healthy, and then perform to expectations.