Who are the 5 cornerstones of the Arizona Cardinals in 2023?
By Sion Fawkes
1 - Budda Baker
Budda Baker will be in an Arizona Cardinals uniform this season and he’s the undisputed number one player on the team. Let’s hope that trend continues for the next few seasons, and hopefully, Baker and Thompson continue to make life tough for opposing offenses, or at least doing everything in their respective power to.
Like Thompson, Baker makes the entire defense better, and since 2021, he’s more than shown it. Baker has played in 32 of 34 possible games, logging five interceptions, 155 return yards, 14 passes defended, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, 209 tackles, and seven stops behind the line.
In my opinion, Walder missed the mark with some of their rankings. Sure, they’re right about the Cardinals having a weak roster, but to place Kyler Murray, D.J. Humphries, and Paris Johnson on the list of “core players” or as cornerstones doesn’t do the team justice.
No, not all the players listed above are great, and you could even call a couple of them above average. But they all at least have potential to become elite talents in the NFL.
dark. Hot. Cardinals: Top 5 position battles heading into 2023. Cardinals: Top 5 position battles heading into 2023
Source: Ranking NFL roster cores: Stacking all 32 teams' top five players by Seth Walder, ESPN.com
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)