The Arizona Cardinals have a young football team full of underrated players in 2023, but there will always be a few who stand out. If you have been paying attention to their initial training camp sessions, you may be keeping an eye on a few of those players already.
If not, we at Raising Zona listed five guys whose respective NFL careers haven’t been the most exciting, and you can even make the case that each player listed is a fringe prospect to make the team. But their early performances in camp could foreshadow that they will play a major role with the Cards if their respective stocks keep trending north.
Underrated players who will shine in Arizona Cardinals training camp
1 - Noah Togiai, TE
In a previous piece, we detailed Noah Togiai was getting some reps as an H-Back, and if that trend continues, it means he will have found his niche with the team. For a run-heavy offense, someone will have to play the fullback, or H-back, role, and Togiai more than looks like the front runner for the job.
For someone like Togiai, who has seen just seven games of action in his NFL career and has bounced around the league since 2020, this also means he’s giving off some decent returns early. That will be a major confidence booster for the fourth-year player, and it could easily elevate his game to the next level.
2 - Christian Matthew, CB
Christian Matthew was getting work with the starters this past week, and he has a well-deserved chance to show that he can build on last season. Thanks to his size, Matthew has more than ideal range as a corner, and he may translate that into a successful outing in camp as he begins Year 2 of his pro football career.
With the cornerback unit being rather unstable at the moment with names like Antonio Hamilton and Rashad Fenton vying for spots, Matthew also has a golden opportunity to hang onto the starting role. But he will face stiff competition when Garrett Williams eventually returns.
3 - Jeff Driskel, QB
Colt McCoy and Clayton Tune are understandably getting more reps, but as I’ve stated in a previous article, the system offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is implementing could highlight Driskel’s strengths. He’s a mobile quarterback who has also shown off his arm strength recently.
This isn’t to say that Driskel will be anything more than a QB3 when the season opens if Kyler Murray is still on the PUP. But it is saying that his performance could land him something in the short-term with the Arizona Cardinals, and it could also keep him in the NFL a little longer.
4 - Zach Pascal, WR
While Zach Pascal didn’t make an impact on offense during his time with the Philadelphia Eagles last year, he’s seen success in the NFL, having logged 165 catches in five seasons, or 33 per year, and 16 receiving touchdowns. Take out his pedestrian season with the Eagles, and Pascal had 150 catches and 15 touchdowns in his first four years.
He also boasts size that the Cardinals projected top three receivers don’t have, and early on, he’s used that size to his advantage. Expect Pascal to keep playing at a high level in camp, and to see some extended playing time when the games start to count.
5 - Elijah Wilkinson, G
Elijah Wilkinson was a surprise starter during the first week of camp, so he’s yet another one who appears to be shining in the early-going. But this should come as no surprise, as the 28-year-old Wilkinson has 36 starts and 67 career games worth of experience across six seasons.
Wilkinson’s experience coupled with the fact he’s latched on and delivered at least serviceable play in previous stops shows us that he can be one of the better linemen for a young team in camp. If he continues to impress, Wilkinson, at worst, will be a priority backup or even a part-time starter.
Overall, there are going to be many underrated players on this Arizona Cardinals team. And the five listed above are just a few capable of playing good football in August and early September before the regular season ultimately kicks off. It will be interesting to see if any of the above names continue to make an impact during that time.
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)