A season of disappointment for several Arizona Cardinals

There are a handful of Arizona Cardinals who have failed to live up to the expectations that were placed upon them this season

It would be stating the obvious to say that the Arizona Cardinals’ 2018 campaign has been a disappointment. The hiring of an awful coaching staff has had a domino effect. Cards’ players who were eyeing big seasons in 2018 have been hamstrung by head coach Steve Wilks and his ill-prepared group of assistants.

One Cardinal who has been affected dramatically by the impossible situation is David Johnson. The running back’s offseason goal was to amass 1000 yards rushing and 1000 yards receiving, a feat which many fans believed would be a possibility. Johnson will not come anywhere close to those numbers, playing in an offense that has been devoid of direction all year.

Former first-round draft pick Deone Bucannon is another who has underperformed in ’18. Defensive coordinator Al Holcomb has failed to utilize “Buc” properly, despite the fact that the linebacker has been one of Arizona’s surest tacklers since 2014. Bucannon’s production has taken a huge nosedive, quite possibly through no fault of his own.

Question marks have been attached to D.J. Humphries ever since the Cards made him their top pick in the 2015 draft. Mediocre play, combined with an inability to stay healthy, have prevented the left tackle from proving his detractors wrong. Humphries has done little this season to make anyone think that he can handle the most important spot on the Cards’ offensive line going forward.

The ACL tear suffered by Markus Golden in 2017 appears have taken a toll on the pass rusher. The defensive end showed flashes of his pre-injury self earlier this year, but now seems to have hit a wall. Holcomb’s defense has produced a bunch of quarterback sacks during the current campaign, but Golden has contributed very little in that area.

One more Cardinal worth mentioning is wide receiver Chad Williams. The team’s third-round pick in ’17 has failed to take advantage of the increased playing time that he’s been afforded in his sophomore season. Williams hasn’t done near enough to insure that he’ll be back with the squad in 2019.