{"id":34407,"date":"2025-05-08T18:51:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T18:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/34407\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T18:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T18:51:10","slug":"whats-the-arizona-cardinals-biggest-roster-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/34407\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s the Arizona Cardinals’ biggest roster hole?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bulk of roster-shuffling is over this NFL offseason. The Arizona Cardinals spammed additions to the defensive front in both free agency and the NFL Draft, and the next major opportunity to find rotation talent outside of floating free agents is the 53-man roster cutdowns before the season.<\/p>\n

If we pull back the microscope to judge the entire roster at this point in May, what position group might have the most unfinished work left?<\/p>\n

Pro Football Focus\u2019 Trevor Sikkema<\/a> sees a question on the interior of the offensive line:<\/p>\n

The Cardinals put together a solid offseason, including the draft, but their interior offensive line could still use more juice.\u00a0Hjalte Froholdt\u00a0and\u00a0Evan Brown\u00a0at center and left guard, respectively, were serviceable with 76.9 and 69.5 PFF pass-blocking grades in 2024. But\u00a0Isaiah Adams\u00a0struggled at right guard. It will be those same three at the top of the depth chart heading into the season.<\/p>\n

By PFF\u2019s metrics, Adams ranked as the 56th-best run-blocker among the 136 guards qualified, a reason the run-heavy Cardinals might be willing to give him time to develop. The third-round pick in 2024 was 93rd in pass-blocking.<\/p>\n

By the end of the 2024 season, he had piled up 462 offensive snaps after veteran Will Hernandez started the first five games of the season before finding himself on injured reserve with an ACL injury.<\/p>\n

Even if Isaiah Adams is the a starting guard for the Arizona Cardinals, depth is still a question<\/p>\n

Hernandez remains a free agent with recovery still in progress. Arizona\u2019s guard rotation will return Evan Brown to the left side after his first year with the Cardinals was followed by a two-year contract signing in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the right side, Adams could receive a push for the starting job<\/a> from 2025 sixth-round pick Hayden Conner and Jon Gaines II, a fourth-round pick in 2023 who has not cracked the rotation so far.<\/p>\n

The Cardinals\u2019 offensive line features Hjalte Froholdt at center and Brown at left guard, but the pair has experience playing each other\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

An injury to Froholdt, however, would potentially swing Brown into center duty, and that is where the guard depth could be problematic. Arizona does have backups with significant NFL playing experience, like Nick Leverett and Royce Newman, among those rostered and ready to earn a spot as a backup.<\/p>\n

Follow @kzimmermanaz<\/a><\/p>\n

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