5 Cardinals with the Most to Prove

NFL preseason is well underway and the NFL bubbles are forming. This is where NFL teams are made, where no-name players show up, and where others fade into obscurity. Spoilers ahead, this list may include one of your favorite players (no, not Larry Fitzgerald).

Brandon Williams

The Good:
David Johnson, Bene’ Benwikere, Chase Edmonds

The Bad:
Brandon Williams, JJ Nelson and Daniel Munyer.#Cardinals#Cards

— Jeff Jackson (@eyedocjeff) August 12, 2018

Brandon Williams has always been an interesting player for the Arizona Cardinals. He’s a favorite amongst the veterans, but he can never find himself in a role of impact. It certainly has nothing to do with his size at 6’0″, 200 pounds. He has all the intangibles that you would want in a cornerback from a physicality standpoint. Williams hasn’t got himself into any trouble off the field or had any major injuries, so what is it that has hamstrung his ability to get on the field? Well, for the defense, you are either making plays or plays are being made against you. That’s exactly the case against Brandon Williams. The former college running back has struggled to make the transition to cornerback, missed tackles and assignments have been the norm for this three-year vet. If Brandon Williams wants to remain a Cardinal, we need to see BIG changes to his game quick, fast, and in a hurry.

Mike Glennon

This one is a bit interesting to me. Mike Glennon to me will always be remembered as the guy who gifted Patrick Peterson 2 interceptions in the 4th quarter to set up the Cardinals win in 2013 at Tampa Bay (Full highlights of that game here if you’d like). Glennon is obviously known for having a problem with throwing interceptions, but what shocks me most is that Charles Kanoff seems to be the quarterback that is making a case to be in the #3 spot. Granted, I think that Glennon’s veteran “experience” will be more valuable on the sidelines for Bradford and even Rosen, which will keep him on the roster. But Cardinals fans need to see better play from the 6-year quarterback in order to feel a little better about the fact that Glennon may be the season-long backup (ie. He would finish a game if Bradford was hurt and then Rosen would start the following week).

J.J. Nelson

Ever since John Brown had his health issues, fans expected J.J. Nelson to have a breakout year. That year never came. Nelson has struggled to achieve a season where he catches 50% of his targets. Speed in an offense can do wonders, but you have to be dependable enough to catch the ball. Otherwise, you are just wasting a down by chucking it downfield. I really want the best for Nelson, but this current wide receiver room has a lot of players who are just as hungry to make an NFL roster. Let’s hope that one of our current quarterbacks can find the same connection with J.J. that Carson Palmer was able to achieve with him in 2016:

Daniel Munyer

Cardinals are trying to figure out who backup center will be behind rookie Mason Cole. Daniel Munyer’s spot figures to be tenuous after multiple low shotgun snaps already tonight.

— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 12, 2018

This isn’t how you want your name to be showing up on Twitter. Daniel Munyer struggled mightily snapping the ball Saturday against the Chargers. Pair that with the 2nd string offensive line having protection issues, Munyer got most of the negative spotlight. The Cardinals needs a backup center to follow rookie Mason Cole. Cole is stepping in for A.Q. Shipley who is out for the year with an ACL tear that he suffered in camp. Munyer has to greatly improve if he wants a spot on this roster. The team will probably give Evan Boehm another year to try to make improvements, don’t expect Munyer to get that same timeframe.

Passing Offense

Now I know this isn’t actually a player but this is arguably the biggest thing I need to see improvement from in preseason game #2. Even with double the sacks for the Chargers, they still had 150 yards more of passing offense. I know that both teams are running vanilla offensive & defensive schemes, but our passing game was certainly off. About 10% off to be exact.

This team doesn’t need to throw the deep ball like in years past, but they do need to be more accurate in the short game if they want teams to respect the run game.

Think there is someone we left off this list? Comment below or vote on our Twitter Poll:

Who has the most work to do after the first #Cardinals preseason game?

— Kazual Sportz (@KazualSportz) August 14, 2018