Who will be the breakout players?<\/a> Will the Cardinals reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021?<\/p>\nHere are five takeaways from their offseason workouts:<\/p>\n
Will Johnson isn\u2019t completely past his health issues<\/p>\n
The Cardinals were able to draft Johnson in the second round because teams had concerns about the long-term health of his right knee, but that wasn\u2019t his only recent health-related issue. The cornerback missed the final six games of last season with a toe injury, then missed Michigan\u2019s pro day with a hamstring problem.<\/p>\n
At times during the Cardinals’ offseason program, Johnson appeared to be a full participant in both individual and team drills. But at other times, he stood to the side, closely watching teammates go through work and taking mental notes without actively participating.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the Cardinals final practice, head coach Jonathan Gannon revealed that Johnson\u2019s limitations were because he is still dealing with a \u201clittle bit of tight hamstring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gannon did say that he expects Johnson to be ready for the start of training camp. Still, the lingering nature of his injury limitations is not ideal.<\/p>\n
Walter Nolen looks explosive<\/p>\n
Coming out of Mississippi, the scouting report on Nolen started with his explosive burst off the line of scrimmage. During offseason workouts, the Cardinals’ first-round pick showed exactly what that looks like.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s only so much that can be assessed when players are practicing on air, without pads. Even still, it was easy to see Nolen\u2019s violence from how he attacked blocking sheds and how he exploded off the line in individual drills.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see some traits show up when we go fast,\u201d Gannon said. \u201cThere’s no doubt about it. He’s got some twitch to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calais Campbell knows what that looks like better than most. He\u2019s entering his 18th season largely because of his own explosiveness. On the practice field, he sees those same traits in Nolen.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has unbelievable lateral quickness,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cVery few players can go backdoor and then come down the line and make a (tackle for loss). I’ve done that a lot in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Typically, coaches teach their players to avoid doing that because it can open up holes for running backs. But with some players, Campbell said, coaches are smart enough to allow exceptions.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to do that,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cBut then sometimes, guys can do it and make plays. And he’s one of those guys that has that unique ability where he has quickness. His quickness is a different level.\u201d<\/p>\n
The offense could look different, slightly<\/p>\n
In contrast to their defensive overhaul, the Cardinals kept their offense intact over the offseason. And for the most part, it should look similar. The personnel is the same, as is the playcaller. The Cardinals will still rely on heavy personnel, making use of their size and physicality.<\/p>\n
But there will likely be a few key differences. The Cardinals repeatedly spoke about tweaking how they work off-schedule, so that they can turn Kyler Murray\u2019s creative ability into more big plays. They also said the offense will incorporate more pre-snap motions and disguises.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou either feel pressure or apply it,\u201d Gannon said. \u201cThat\u2019s a way to apply pressure to the defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s one area, though, in which fans might be frustrated to see the offense look similar: Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said that he still envisions Marvin Harrison Jr. being used as a field stretcher \u2014 a role in which he was seldom effective last season.<\/p>\n
Top three draft picks could be in line for key roles<\/p>\n
Trying to predict the depth chart in June can be a fool\u2019s errand. Still, there are useful tidbits to be gleaned.<\/p>\n
Take last summer, when third-round pick Trey Benson was going through drills as the fourth running back, behind Emari Demercado and DeeJay Dallas. That didn\u2019t mean Benson was actually going to be fourth on the Week 1 depth chart, but it was a solid indication to temper expectations of him cutting into James Conner\u2019s workload.<\/p>\n
This year, three Cardinals rookies \u2014 Nolen, Johnson and third-round edge rusher Jordan Burch \u2014 appear to be a step ahead of the rest of the class. Nolen and Johnson are obvious, but Burch has also stood out, occasionally mixing in with the starters.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally smart, detailed,\u201d Gannon said of Burch. \u201cWe’ve moved him around a little bit. You see some of the physical traits that we saw on tape. \u2026 I’m pleased where he’s at right now, he’s doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, fourth-round linebacker Cody Simon has been behind Mack Wilson Sr., Akeem Davis-Gaither and Owen Pappoe in most linebacker drills. That could be an indication that he \u2014 like the rest of the Day 3 draft picks \u2014 has a longer way to go.<\/p>\n
Mack Wilson Sr. could be the starting middle linebacker<\/p>\n
In Gannon\u2019s first two years, Kyzir White ran the defense from his spot at middle linebacker. He operated as the Cardinals\u2019 defensive field general, playing nearly 100% of snaps when healthy.<\/p>\n
Now, White is gone, and that spot is up for grabs. The Cardinals did add to their inside linebacker room externally by signing Davis-Gaither and drafting Simon. But the early indications are that Mack Wilson could take over White\u2019s responsibilities.<\/p>\n
Last season, Wilson was the Cardinals\u2019 secondary inside linebacker, playing a more versatile role that saw him regularly align on the defensive line and in the slot. Gannon, though, believes that the skill set required for each inside linebacker position is similar.<\/p>\n
That should benefit Wilson\u2019s chances of stepping into a bigger role.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re kind of mirrored positions,\u201d Gannon said. \u201cDo they align differently? Do they have different responsibility? Yes. But at the end of the day, in the run game, hit the ball and in the pass game, \u2026 be able to close windows, play off the quarterback and \u2026 cover people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jonathan Gannon speaks as Cardinals wrap up 2025 minicamp Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon talks about minicamp…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2078],"tags":[247,265,375,390,2604,807,15439,4750,4755,1125,1327,7,5921,1070,6984,6989,1184,7992,7994,677,679,248,267,246,206,55,88,6,676,245,264,2352,3326,397,9,266,678,2340,25211,693,1186,2637],"class_list":{"0":"post-131708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arizona-cardinals","8":"tag-american","9":"tag-american-football","10":"tag-arizona","11":"tag-arizona-cardinals","12":"tag-arizonacardinals","13":"tag-az","14":"tag-benson","15":"tag-calais","16":"tag-calais-campbell","17":"tag-campbell","18":"tag-cardinals","19":"tag-football","20":"tag-harrison","21":"tag-jr","22":"tag-kyzir","23":"tag-kyzir-white","24":"tag-listicle","25":"tag-marvin","26":"tag-marvin-harrison","27":"tag-modular","28":"tag-modular-story","29":"tag-national","30":"tag-national-sports","31":"tag-neutral","32":"tag-new","33":"tag-new-orleans-saints","34":"tag-news","35":"tag-nfl","36":"tag-orleans","37":"tag-overall","38":"tag-overall-neutral","39":"tag-prospects","40":"tag-prospects-az","41":"tag-saints","42":"tag-sports","43":"tag-sports-news","44":"tag-story","45":"tag-trey","46":"tag-trey-benson","47":"tag-ttp","48":"tag-ttp-listicle","49":"tag-white"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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