Is there an Arizona Cardinals player who is on the spot this upcoming season?
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports released a list last Friday naming a player from each team who was on the spot for the 2016 season. Before even learning who Prisco picked from the Cardinals, you may have already started thinking of possible players that could be a possible pick. Names that came to mind for me included defensive end Calais Campbell, punter Drew Butler and cornerback Justin Bethel.
Calais Campbell is heading into a contract year and a relatively down season compared to the one he had in 2014. Campbell even faced rumors of the team looking to trade him back in early March.
Drew Butler beat out Dave Zastudil in the preseason for the right to be the team’s punter. Butler was second to last in net punting average (36.8) in 2014 and dropped to last in 2015 (35.4).
The Cardinals have also brought in undrafted free agent Garrett Swanson out of Fresno State to compete with Butler. If Butler can beat out Swanson, he will most definitely be on the spot in 2016.
Cornerback Justin Bethel was pushed into the starting role opposite Patrick Peterson after the injury to Tyrann Mathieu. Opposing quarterbacks feasted on him but Bethel was able to hold his own. He is currently slated to start at corner, and will need to step up his play as a corner to the same level as his special teams play.
Prisco picked linebacker Chandler Jones as the Cardinals’ player who was on the spot for 2016. This was certainly a surprise to me as I don’t think it was fair to say a newly acquired player is on the spot.
Prisco explains why he picked Jones:
"They traded to get him from New England to amp up their pass rush, which makes him key to their season. Jones is a good pass rusher, but there are questions since New England let him go. That’s absurd. He’s a good player who needs to get 10-13 sacks for a successful season after getting 12.5 last season."
While I don’t agree with Prisco’s pick, I believe Jones will be able to live up to his hype and produce. Regardless, the Cardinals will need contributions from everyone if they want to take the next step up from last season.