At this point of training camp, teams begin to prepare for preseason matchups. For the Arizona Cardinals, they begin preparation for their game Friday night against the Oakland Raiders Friday night at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
Monday just before practice, the Cardinals released the first depth chart of the season. Though it is just preseason, the depth chart gives the players and fans a look at who is the ahead of the pack.
“It’s (in) invisible ink,” coach Bruce Arians said, laughing. “It ain’t even in pencil.”
With that said, there is still plenty of time for player improvement which means players can move up and down the chart. But for now, it is interesting to see where the players are at this point.
Position battle at center
According to the depth chart, veteran A.Q. Shipley is listed as the starting center, behind him in the second spot is Earl Watford and lastly is rookie center Evan Boehm.
Before training camp started, the center position was wide open and was for the taking. Boehm has looked good, receiving a lot of positive reviews. The coaching staff feels like Boehm has a lot to learn, which is why he is in the three spot.
As for Watford, he has practiced at all five of the offensive line positions. He has looked good wherever the Cardinals put him. Because he has NFL experience, that would place him in the number two spot.
Position battle at corner
Another spot to watch out for coming into training camp was the right corner position. Who will play opposite of Patrick Peterson? At one point, Justin Bethel was poised to take the job. Due to an injury, the Cardinals haven’t seen much of his play to this point.
Third round pick Brandon Williams has made the most out of the opportunity he has been given.
“Justin better get back quick, ’cause he’s losing ground. You know, that’s Brandon’s job to lose right now,” coach Arians said. “He’s played extremely well, he’s very competitive. You knew that because he was a great special teams player at A&M, learning how to play DB that one year. But he’s long, he’s fast.”
Bethel is not the only one competing for the job. Recently injured veteran Mike Jenkins was brought in to compete for the starting job. Additionally, the recently-signed Alan Ball could dethrone Williams and be named the starter.
Other Observations
It appears that there is a battle going on for the last wide receiver spot. Rookie receiver Chris Hubert has made quite the name for himself. Marquis Bundy and Brittan Golden are not far behind.
Matt Barkley is slightly ahead of former Alabama quarterback Jake Coker. When given the opportunity, neither have really separated themselves from the other. This past week saw both quarterbacks over throw wide open receivers and threw risky passes into tight coverage.
The defensive line is stacked with talent. Red Bryant finds himself competing with Ed Stinson for the backup role to Calais Campbell. Bryant had a pivotal stop in goal line situation drills during the annual red and white practice this past weekend.
Injured defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche finds himself in the last spot of the defensive tackles. He is not far from putting on the pads and showing coaches what he brings to the team. There could be a showdown between Nkemdiche, Rodney Gunter, and Frostee Rucker fighting for the starting spot.