The Arizona Cardinals’ fourth day of training camp was a light one, as they prepare for their first practice in pads on Monday, July 28.
So while there were a handful of pretty passes from Kyler Murray to Marvin Harrison Jr., they came at half speed with minimal contact. Instead, it was a good day to watch for the Cardinals’ defensive rotations and gauge their personnel plans on that side of the ball.
In that sense, it was another encouraging day for Darius Robinson, the 2024 first-round pick. Robinson has shown his explosiveness throughout camp, and it seems that the Cardinals want to find him regular snaps.
As a rookie, Robinson played exactly 50% of snaps once he returned from a calf injury in Week 13. And with so many new additions along the defensive line, his role was a question mark entering camp.
So far, he has been a consistent presence in the Cardinals’ first-team defense. In four-man fronts, he’s seen work at both defensive tackle and on the edge, typically as a down lineman with Josh Sweat as a stand-up rusher on the other side. The Cardinals have also shown a lot of one-linebacker looks, which enables them to get an extra defensive lineman on the field.
Here are some other observations from Day 4 of training camp:
Garrett Williams sees work at outside corner
With Starling Thomas V out for the season due to a torn ACL, the Cardinals’ starting cornerbacks in nickel packages are set. Will Johnson and Max Melton will start on the outside, with Garrett Williams at nickel.
But on Sunday, Williams saw some snaps on the outside when the Cardinals were in four-defensive back looks. They only used that personnel 13% of the time last season, so it’s not a major role, but it’s still worth noting. Last year, Williams played just 11 snaps at outside corner.
Intriguing names rotate in with starters
A handful of intriguing players rotated in with the defensive starters on Sunday.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, who shined in limited opportunities as a rookie, saw some work in three safety looks alongside Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson. Jordan Burch, a third-round rookie, and Xavier Thomas, a 2024 fifth-rounder, both rotated in at edge rusher. And third-year linebacker Owen Pappoe worked in with the starters at that position.
When the Cardinals signed linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither in free agency, he seemed set to play a major role in the middle of the defense. But early in camp, they have used more of a rotation at that spot. Davis-Gaither, fourth-round rookie Cody Simon and Pappoe have all seen work with the first team.
Rookie lineman moves up to second team
Hayden Conner, the Cardinals’ sixth-round pick, moved up from the third team to the second team in Sunday’s practice. Conner played guard in college but has seen all of his training camp snaps at center. The Cardinals like Royce Newman as a backup guard but Conner has a clear path to a roster spot if he can be a reliable option at center.
“Really, (it’s) for how he fits in with the whole room,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said. “… He’ll play both. We want to get him comfortable playing (center), but then you’ll see him kicking to guard too.”