5 battles to watch during Arizona Cardinals training camp

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3 days ago

The Arizona Cardinals begin training camp in an enviable position.
There is no drama surrounding who will start at quarterback or on the offensive line, the sport's two most important positions. Their skill positions are mostly set, too. Even on defense, the Cardinals have a handful of entrenched starters.
The team began camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 24. The Cardinals open the season on Sept. 7 in New Orleans for Week 1.
Still, as practices heat up and the pads go on, there will be some crucial depth chart battles to watch. Here are the top five:
Three cornerbacks for two spots
With Sean Murphy-Bunting out for the season due to a knee injury, the Cardinals are down to three contenders for two starting spots at outside corner.
Will Johnson, the second-round rookie, was considered the second-best cornerback in the draft (behind No. 2 pick Travis Hunter) before concerns over the long-term health of his knee caused him to slide. He's healthy to start training camp, though, and is the most talented option at the position, but also the least experienced.
Max Melton, a 2024 second-round pick, showed some encouraging flashes last season and improved as the year went on. By the second half of the year, he was an important part of the Cardinals' rotation at the position and helped shut down some top corners. Still, he played just 52% of snaps and never became entrenched as a starter.
The final option is Starling Thomas V, a former undrafted free agent whom the Cardinals claimed off waivers with minimal expectations ahead of the 2023 season. After a difficult first year in Arizona, he emerged last season and became the Cardinals' top-rated outside corner, per Pro Football Focus.
Entering camp, there's no telling what the hierarchy is among these three. Arizona could even continue with a rotation, as it did for much of last season. But most teams prefer to stick with two starters on the outside, so the Cardinals will be hoping two of these players can emerge to complement Garrett Williams, their standout nickel corner.
Second edge rusher
The Cardinals handed Josh Sweat a four-year, $76.4 million deal to be the centerpiece of their edge rushing group. The rest of that position, though, appears wide open as camp begins.
As with the rest of the defensive line, edge rusher is a position that will see heavy rotation. At least four players will play significant snaps there every Sunday. But it would provide a boost to the Cardinals' pass rush if a second player emerges alongside Sweat.
The primary contenders are B.J. Ojulari, Zaven Collins and Baron Browning, although Ojulari will miss the start of camp as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in July 2024. And don't forget about rookie Jordan Burch, who was drafted in the third round after recording 8.5 sacks in 10 games at Oregon last year.
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How will the interior defensive line sort out?
A year ago, the Cardinals spent half their season in desperate search of anybody who could provide useful snaps at the defensive line. Now, they suddenly have more talent than available spots.
There's no shortage of storylines to watch with this group.
Darius Robinson, the 27th overall pick in 2024, will be looking to entrench himself behind veterans Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson. Walter Nolen, the 16th overall pick this spring, will be aiming to carve out a role when he returns from a calf injury that is expected to sideline him for most of camp.
Then there are the depth pieces. L.J. Collier and Dante Stills performed admirably last season, but Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols are veterans who would carry significant cap hits if cut. Can Collier and Stills force the Cardinals' hand?
Interior offensive line depth
The second-string offensive line might not be a headline-grabbing topic, but it's an important one. Last year, the Cardinals were able to weather significant injuries up front because of players like Kelvin Beachum, Trystan Colon and Isaiah Adams.
This time around, the situation is murkier. Beachum is a reliable swing tackle, but the Cardinals do not have a single proven backup on the interior. A single injury to a starting guard or center would make for an unnerving situation.
Between Royce Newman, Jake Curhan, Jon Gaines, Nick Leverett and sixth-round rookie Hayden Conner, someone has to win those two (or three) available jobs on the 53-man roster. Conner, a stellar pass protector in college at Texas, is the most exciting option. His development, in particular, will be worth watching during camp.
Who starts at middle linebacker?
The Cardinals do not have a clear replacement for Kyzir White, the signal-calling middle linebacker who played nearly every snap when healthy over the past two seasons.
The question now is whether that role in the middle of the defense will be filled by Mack Wilson, Akeem Davis-Gaither or even fourth-round pick Cody Simon.
Wilson excelled last year in a more versatile role, but would have different responsibilities at middle linebacker. Davis-Gaither is a more traditional option, but he's never played over 50% of defensive snaps in a season. And Simon is, of course, a rookie. His position on the depth chart during training camp will be a useful indicator of how close he is to earning significant snaps.
There's also a secondary inside linebacker job — the one occupied by Wilson last season — up for grabs in most packages.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Depth chart battles to watch during Arizona Cardinals training camp