Much of the talk this off season was about who will replace Steven Breaston and play opposite of Larry Fitzgerald. Many fans were concerned considering Doucet and Roberts as too unproven to start. Rumors flew about mentioning names such as Braylon Edwards and Malcolm Floyd, but as the shortened off season progressed it became apparent that the FO and coaching staff were happy with the WR's on the roster.
As the preseason progresses, one of the most interesting roster position battles is the four or so guys coming after number 11. After the break, a look at the depth chart.
The current Cardinals depth chart has our WR depth as so:
WR1: 11 Larry Fitzgerald 18 Stephen Williams 89 DeMarco Sampson 80 Isaiah Williams 15 Sean Jeffcoat
WR 2: 12 Andre Roberts 85 Early Doucet 10 Max Komar 17 Chansi Stuckey 13 Aaron Nichols 16 D. Curry-Chapman
Assuming we only keep five WR's on the roster, it is looking like will have to cut (or PS for those eligible) 6 WR's
So far it seems that Doucet and Roberts are a lock for the roster leaving two, or possibly 3, WR's positions available. I will stick with 5 because I believe we will keep 4 TE's this season due to the increased ability to catch from the position.
Throughout camp and one preseason game it appears that DeMarco Sampson, Stephen Williams and Isaiah Williams have all impressed. Max Komar is also in the picture as a UDFA from last season. And of course, let's not forget our only WR FA acquisition, Chansi Stuckey, who at 27 is a veteran player and known as semi-productive slot WR. Even with the pass anemic Browns (185 YPG, ranked 29th), he collected 40 receptions and had a 8.7 YPC.
Selecting the WR's for this year will be a very difficult task. As we have only seen one preseason game it will be hard to assess who will make it and who won't. From NFL.com our first preseason WR stats are so:
Isaiah Williams
3
50
16.7
28
1
Larry Fitzgerald
2
60
30.0
43
0
DeMarco Sampson
2
47
23.5
41
0
Stephen Williams
2
39
19.5
21
1
Todd Heap
2
21
10.5
13
0
Rob Housler
2
18
9.0
10
1
Early Doucet
2
10
5.0
10
0
Ryan Williams
1
23
23.0
23
0
Chansi Stuckey
1
20
20.0
20
0
Andre Roberts
1
9
9.0
9
0
My early preseason guess will be that Sean Jeffcoat, Aaron Nichols, D. Curry-Chapman, and Max Komar will be cut. Isaiah Williams and DeMarco Sampson will find themselves on the PS. I believe Stuckey will make Komar expendable and Stephen Williams size, speed and extra year in the system will give him the edge over 7th round pick Sampson.
Again, I know it's early but it is fun to speculate.
Other interesting position battles that I will write about is LB, CB, and G.