3 under-the-radar Arizona Cardinals players to watch in Preseason Week 2

The Arizona Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs could be gearing up to play their starters for a half tomorrow night. And if that’s the case, there is no better team in the NFL to use as a measuring stick to see where you currently stand. 

And there is also no better team in the NFL to use as a measuring stick if you’ve been performing well in camp and in practice, but you are rather obscure on the depth chart. Below, there are three players who have flown under the radar that will demand your attention tomorrow. 

Two of them are trying to land at least a spot on the practice squad. But one player could find themselves in the starting lineup come Week 1 when the Cards face the Washington Commanders.

Under-the-radar Arizona Cardinals to watch on Saturday

1 - Kaden Davis, WR

Kaden Davis had a sneaky good game at receiver last week vs. the Denver Broncos, catching two of three passes for 16 yards and a touchdown. While there won’t be enough room for him to make the 53-man roster, he still holds value as a potential practice squad prospect, and another good game this week should at least lock him up for a spot on the scout team.

These are the kind of players you don’t want to underestimate, despite the rather unconventional route they are on in the NFL. Davis has shown us some good returns, and he will be interesting to at least keep an eye on tomorrow night.

2 - Hayden Howerton, C

Just how good was Hayden Howerton last week? When SI’s Donnie Druin listed the Top 5 Arizona Cardinals grades from PFF, Hayden Howerton took second next to Dennis Gardeck. 

Like Kaden Davis, there is no way Hayden Howerton is making the final roster, but he’s yet another one who can stay in the desert as a member of the practice squad. Also like Davis, one more good, or great game, is all he will need to stick around for at least a little while longer.

3 - Jonathan Ledbetter, DE

Jonathan Ledbetter is one of those players who just quietly worked his way up the depth chart and he currently sits at #1 as of this week. Last season, Ledbetter played just 29 percent of his possible snaps, 275 per Pro-Football-Reference, and he ended up with a combined 22 tackles, a sack, two tackles behind the line, and a pair of quarterback hits.

Overall, Ledbetter is in prime position to lock down the starting job this week if he can have an epic performance vs. the Chiefs starting offense. And don’t be surprised if Ledbetter is just getting started, given the way he’s managed to stick around and, at the time of this writing, sneak into a starting role.

(Statistics provided by ESPN.com and Pro-Football-Reference) Source: AZCardinals