The Arizona Cardinals have a number of new faces on the roster which leads to new positional competition
The Arizona Cardinals recently got to 90 players on their roster. Prior to the 2018 NFL Draft a couple of weeks ago, they were still under 70 players. There are many new faces but a lot of familiar ones still fighting for their spots.
Now after the draft the Cardinals are up to the NFL maximum 90 players in the offseason. There will be some tweaking here and there as they try to continue to plug holes at places that still need help.
For the most part though, the Cardinals have who they will be taking into training camp with them in July. For now, the Cardinals are going through mini camps and OTA’s.
There will be a number of positions that will have competition. Some spots are locked up already but not many. That is what will make this summer more exciting than some in the recent past.
There will be players coming off injury as well, so that may change things as we get closer to the season. Based on what we know now, the Cardinals should have the following positions find good competition for starting spots and even just a roster spot.
A number of positions we know who the starters are. It is the backups we will also be interested in.
Cornerback
Much of the talk in the offseason has been to upgrade at starting cornerback opposite Patrick Peterson. The Cardinals didn’t completely ignore the position in the draft.
They spent their sixth round pick on Chris Campbell out of Penn State. While he is a decent bet to make the roster, he is still a couple of years away from likely competing for a starting spot.
Many point to Brandon Williams. All are waiting for him to reach the potential the Cardinals believe he has. He is one of the only remaining picks from the 2016 draft class on the roster.
This could be the last chance for Williams to do something. There is only so much time you can spend on someone without moving forward.
Free agent Bene Benwikere signed with the Cardinals in the offseason. The five year veteran seems like a possible option to grab the second starting spot.
Also, don’t close your eyes on five year veteran Marcus Williams either. He could be in the mix during training camp.
Tight End
Jermaine Gresham seems to have the number one spot locked in, although you never know these days. Some are still surprised he is on the roster at all.
Rickey Seals-Jones came on late in the 2017 season and had a couple of really nice games. He should push Gresham and get a lot of playing time.
Outside of those two, everyone else is a rookie or first-year player. Experience counts and guys like Alec Boom out of Connecticut or Gabe Holmes out of Purdue will need to step up.
With the addition of the fullback position to the Cardinals offense this season, the need for four or five tight ends won’t be there. Maybe they only keep three?
There’s no saying if the Cardinals even stay put with what they have and find someone else in the end to be the third tight end? For now the Cardinals seem happy with what they have but there will certainly be competition to make the 53-man roster.
Receiver
After Larry Fitzgerald, we have no idea how the receivers will be slotted. The Cardinals certainly have some talent on the roster but it is still largely unrealized on the playing field.
Who will be the number two or three receivers? Will J.J. Nelson step up? How about Brice Butler, who signed with the Cardinals in the off season?
Rookie Christian Kirk seems like a viable option for the number three or four coming into camp. But we have yet to see just how he will acclimate to the NFL level.
Last year’s third round pick, Chad Williams, should also be in the mix. He didn’t get a chance to play much last season because the Cardinals felt like he wasn’t really ready yet. Is he now?
How about a guy like Cobi Hamilton? The third year player has experience with the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers. He caught 17 passes and had two touchdowns for the Steelers two seasons ago.
Kicker
It seems crazy that a rookie kicker could come in a supplant a 20-year veteran. These days, you never know what a team is thinking when it comes to its kickers?
The Cardinals could be caught in such a quandary during training camp this summer. They have their veteran, Phil Dawson, who is entering his second season with the team.
They also brought in undrafted free agent Matt McCrane out of Kansas State. Don’t be surprised if McCrane gives the Cardinals something more than a training camp body.
McCrane was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza award last season. That award goes to the nation’s top college football kicker.
Dawson had his moments last season, both good and bad. Would the Cardinals replace a veteran like Dawson with a younger kicker? Well, it happened four years ago.
The Cardinals surprisingly elected to keep undrafted kicker Chandler Catanzaro over veteran Jay Feely. The point is, nothing is a sure thing, even in kicking.
Defensive Line
Currently the Cardinals have 13 players on the roster on the defensive line. Seven of those 13 are defensive ends.
With the conversion of Chandler Jones and Markus Golden from linebacker to defensive end thanks to a defensive scheme change, spots may be more scarce than in seasons past. The Cardinals also have six defensive tackles.
Those defensive tackles include Rodney Gunter, Robert Nkemdiche, Corey Peters, and Olsen Pierre. They are all holdovers from the Bruce Arians era.
The question is, who stays and who goes? You will likely see a cut down to nine or 10 players total on the defensive line. Is there a chance for guys like defensive ends Bryson Albright and Alec James?
The Cardinals are still waiting for Nkemdiche to reach potential. There is doubt among Cardinals fans that will happen. He too may be sitting on his last chance.
Would the Cardinals part ways in the preseason with Nkemdiche if he isn’t performing? At this point, given the roster, unless he is injured, which with him is always a possibility, look for him to be given one more season to show what he can do.